A Different Dark
by rikkilucario7
Summary: A human, no longer. His memory is lost, and a vaporeon stumbles upon him. Together they form the start of a rescue team. But, evil forces who planned on killing the boy will follow him into his new life as an umbreon. Will he survive or be yet another to fall to Their evil hands? CONTINUING! NOT ON HIATUS WHATSOEVER AND EXTREMELY GLAD ABOUT IT!
1. Chapter 1

Hello everyone, and welcome to the story! I hope you all enjoy :)

* * *

Third Person

As he was told, he set the bomb. It was small but powerful, and would do the job. As he left the building, he took one last look around to make sure no other person was inside. Once a safe distance away, he clicked the button on the fake phone. He watched as the building lit aflame and slowly burned to the ground. He knew the sirens probably set off. He also knew that the police wouldn't believe his story. They couldn't grasp that their precious Company was evil, was plotting to take the world over.

Snap.

He saw them the same moment They saw him.

The boy ran as fast as he could. His red eyes glimmered in the darkness. Otherwise, he was covered in black.

"Get him! He went around the corner!" They yelled. They wanted him, dead or alive. They raced after him, guns shooting. He ducked and dodged best he could. Left and right, up and down. But, somehow they did not get him. He rounded a corner.

Far away, another soul worried deeply about him. She knew there was only one way to save the boy, but either way he would be lost. His memory would be gone, but she was sure he'd find it again one day. Wouldn't he? She thought so, knowing he was smart. His body? It would be altered into something entirely different. All she really knew was that it would be better than if he was killed. She focused herself, and created the portal.

Deep in her mind, she also knew that They had evil shadows in every world. He could still die, even through the portal. But for now, he would be saved.

He rounded the corner, too fast. But, instead of smacking into a wall, he fell into darkness...

They stopped as the portal closed. All except one, who swore revenge and threw himself through.

"Craig will finish it." One of Them decided. There was nothing more They could do. They retreated.

The Boy, Now An Umbreon

He awoke to the waves lightly touching his... paws! He had paws? He couldn't move, he was too exhausted. He wondered how in hell that happened. He was in so much pain that he knew he wasn't dreaming, so he figured it must be real...

But how?

He didn't have that much time to wonder, as he fainted a few moments later. Thinking took it out of him.

He awoke a while later to a shadow falling over him. It hurt so much to move...

He knew he was screwed.

Or was he?

* * *

Ooh, cliffhanger! Hope the first chapter was exciting!


	2. Chapter 2

Hello, again! I have recently been going through the story and editing it for plot holes and have noticed that I switch from tense to tense a lot and I apologize for doing this. I will fix it but currently am focusing more on the plot itself. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 2

The Girl

I groaned. Unlike what the doctors had said so long ago, I was not feeling better. The cancer was taking my body slowly, part by part. It had gotten my feet first. I haven't walked in six years. It slowly, despite chemo and every other method in the book, climbed up my legs. It has taken my knees. My thighs. My lower back. Now it fights for my heart.

I have a day, they tell me. A single day.

Good. I thought. Then I'll be done with this terrible world. But I didn't really want to die. Seventeen is far too young.

Arguably, my life already ended. I've never been in remission, so I've been laying in this bed for six years. I have never gone back to school. My friends weren't really there; they didn't understand really what was happening to me or how to respond. My parents also ditched me. Said they loved me one night and left. Never came back. I fell into a coma two days after that. It lasted two years. When I woke up again, I wished I hadn't.

Ever since I woke up, I've been reading. And reading. I've read algebra books, science books, poetry, Alex Rider, the entire Warrior series. Anything and everything I could get my hands on. Anything you could name, I have read it.

Recently, a twelve-year-old girl has started coming to me in my dreams. Her light green hair reaches her feet, and matches the little dress she wears. She said her name is Celebi. She also said she's real. Why I like her so much is because she trains me in my dreams. From her, I have learned to be a black belt in karate, akido, and several other forms of martial arts. Some would say I live in my dreams. She has also taken me around the world, to see sights and to help. Help, you wonder? In my dreams I am a superhero, I guess. Just without the powers. Celebi takes me and together we save children from burning buildings, people from drowning, pokemon from devilish trainers, people and pokemon from kidnappers, and so much more. I have fought for the life of another more times than I could count, whether it be a fire I fought or an actual person.

I'm happy when sleep greets me for the last time in my life. The doctors and nurses cry as I say goodbye to them. They've been so nice to me. I would miss them, if I could.

"Hello, Celebi." I say as we meet in the green field. It's surrounded by flowers, endless flowers. The sky here is always blue.

"Hi." She said.

"Today I won't ever wake up." I tell her. She shakes her head.

"Not as a human, you won't." Celebi agrees.

"What do you mean?" I ask curiously.

Celebi looks to me hopefully. "I've been training you for more than one reason." She said. "One, because you need a night away from your day. Second, I have a friend. I've told you about the portal that turns you into a pokemon, right?"

"Yes." I nod. She can create a doorway into another world. That doorway also changes you into a pokemon.

"Good. He had to go through that doorway, otherwise these evil people would have killed him." Celebi shakes her head sadly. "Dark, now an umbreon, has lost his memory. Most do, though. But, he is still in danger. Someone went through the gateway with him, I'm afraid..."

"Are you saying I will live if I do through the gateway?" I ask.

"Yes... you will." Celebi said. "But I must ask you to protect my friend."

I think about this for a long moment. This is only a dream, I remember, I won't wake up in the morning either way. Might as well go along with it while I can! If this was real, I would say no. Not unless she took me back out. I was young, but I was ready. I didn't fully want to die, but at least eighty percent of me was ready to go. But this wasn't the real deal.

"Sure!" I say. "None of this is real. Why not?" Celebi doesn't seem to catch that last part. She comes and hugs me, saying her thanks. A dark hole opens up beneath me, and I disappear into it.

I thought that this was me dying.

I thought I wouldn't wake up in the morning.

Boy, was I wrong.

I wake up as an Espeon the next day. I know the only reason I have my memory was because Celebi re-inserted it into my mind. That would also explain why I knew who Dark was.

The Espeon

I woke up in a small room, on a straw bed. The ground was grassy, and the walls were painted a light pink.

"Fuck." I spat at the ground, realizing it was all real. I was an Espeon. I hadn't managed to leave this stupid world. Actually, I had left that stupid world. I was just in a new one now.

"Are you alright?" Came a voice behind me. I managed to shift over in my straw bed.

"Yeah." I say quietly to the lucario. His eyes are blue, I notice.

"Are you in a lot of pain?" he asks.

"No." I say, then stand and shake the straw from my fur. "Where am I, exactly?"

"Wigglytuff's guild." The lucario tells me. "I'm Austin, by the way."

"Great," I said. Crap. The one thing I don't remember is my name... I make one up."I'm Carry."

"Nice to meet you." He said it with a smile.

"You, too." I responded. "Wanna get me outta here? There's someone I really need to see..."

"Okay. Follow me," he responded, and slowly walked out. Good thing, too, I couldn't go any faster. We walked past a few pokemon, all chattering about something random. We climbed a ladder, then another. We were out.

"Thanks." I say to him, and he nods.

How much do you bet he knew I would come back?

* * *

Another cliffhanger. Hope you enjoyed!


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter**** 3**

_**The**____**Umbreon**_

The sun beat down hard on my black fur, making me feel limp and lazy.

Oh, right, that wasn't a _feeling__. _I _literally_was limp. So, when a shadow fell over me, I was scared.

I shut my eyes tight and tensed my body, preparing for an attack. Instead, a light gush of water came over my body. I was pretty much soaking wet now... but I tried and then accomplished opening my eyes and moving onto my stomach.

Have you ever heard those stories where a still-borne baby wakes up when it's warmed? Maybe I woke up because I was chilled. I don't really have a clue... and my brain was too fried to think now, anyway.

"Are you okay?" I could see that the shadow belonged to a purple vaporeon with yellow eyes. Her right ear was torn. I wondered where and who and why.

"More or less," I mumbled.

"I'm Heather. What's your name?" she asks me sweetly.

"Um..." I thought a moment before remembering. "Dark."

"Where are you from?" she asks next.

"...I- I don't remember..." I stammer.

"You don't?" Heather asks uncertainly.

"I don't remember anything except my name," I realize.

"Not your parents? Your homeland?" Heather wondered.

I shook my head. "I don't know."

"Can you use any moves?" Heather wondered next.

I thought hard. Moves? I remembered two words, but neither really made sense. "Like shadow claw?"

"Yeah! Use it on that rock!" Heather instructed, pointing to a nearby stone.

I raced up to it and yelled out the move. Purple claws sprouted from my toes and I smashed them onto the rock, shattering it.

"Great!" Heather called. "Anything else?"

It's then that I remember my pokemon games. All the knowledge of them flooded back into my mind, along with a different thought.

_You__were__human__. __How__else__would__you__have__gotten__those__games__? _I frowned to myself, trying to remember something more. Nothing came. I decided not to tell Heather I was human. She'd probably just freak out. I showed her more of the moves I remembered an umbreon to have.

"You can defend yourself, great! You're really strong, too! But what will you do now?" she asks. I can tell there's something she wants to say here.

"I have no idea," I admit.

"Well... I... I have always wanted to form a rescue team. But that means I'd need a partner. A stronger one than me." She meets my confused gaze. "They go on missions to help pokemon! It's really exciting!"

I thought for a moment. Something inside me urged me to trust her and dive head-first into this. Another, stronger part wanted more information. I forced myself to think.

"Don't want to sound greedy or anything, but how are we going to get food?" I wondered.

"The guild pays for us," she explained. "Plus we get money for rescuing people."

"Okay," I said. "Do we sleep there, too?"

"Yes," Heather said with a nod.

"What if we get hurt?" I wondered next.

"There's people at the guild who help heal us," Heather said. "And other people who train us to be better fighters."

It all sounded pretty good. Too good? "How do they get all this money?"

"Donations," she answered. "And they take some of the money we earn."

"Mm, but it goes to get us food and such?" I wondered.

"Yup!" Heather said, nodding.

"Okay, then," I said. A grin lights her face... but not for long. With a flash of light, we're blinded. I hear Heather scream.

"NO! Not the cleanse tag!" she yells. When the smoke clears, we're just in time to see a zubat and a koffing escape into a nearby cave. "It keeps the spirits away..."

Before I ask what was with the spirits, I suggest we go after them.

"Really?" Heather asks. "You'd help me?"

"Of course!" I say, determined now. It feels so natural to help.

We head into the depths of the cave...

_**The**____**Umbreon**__**, **__**An**____**Hour**____**Later**_

"Wait!" I hissed silently, stopping Heather. Before us was a small dome in the cave, what Heather said was the end of it. The exit was just through here. She thought the burglars had escaped. Heather was wrong, though. The two bandits lay before us.

"Let's go," Heather said, suddenly ticked. I agreed and we slowly advanced.

"Hey! They've found us, Koffing!" Zubat said with an annoying voice.

"Well, good. I wanted some action," the bulky purple pokemon responded. They fall into battle stances. Heather and I follow suit.

Koffing starts by throwing himself at Heather, who uses water pulse to knock him away. Zubat comes at with fangs bared; I use shadow claw as he gets up close. Koffing rams into me, hard, just as Zubat's knocked away. He uses smog directly in my face, making me choke. Heather hits the pokemon on the side with an ice fang, causing him to fly sideways.

I stand up, and am instantly knocked down again by Zubat. I bite him. He shrieks, but uses a confuse ray on me. I loose control over myself.

_What__'__s__going__on__? __Why__is__everything__spinning__? __What__'__s__in__my__jaws__? _I unknowingly release Zubat. _Why__do__rocks__hurt__? _I bump into several. _What__am__I__trying__to__do__? __Why__is__Heather__purple__? __What__'__s__with__the__purple__floating__rock__? _I bite it, wondering how it tastes. _Ew__! __It__spits__gas__! _Finally, the terrible taste in my mouth brings me out of confusion. It was a little late, though. Heather was not doing so well on her own. It was clear the others were cheating, as they threw rocks at her and attacked all at once. I wasn't doing too well, either. I had been tired from the start, and ramming into rocks wasn't exactly helpful.

I yelped as Koffing smashed me against the wall yet again. I heard a gasp of surprise, then felt Koffing's weight being removed from me.

"Bastard!" I got up and turned to see an Espeon. She smacked the Zubat down with a psychic attack. She turned to each of us, ignoring the fainted pokemon. "You two alright?"

"Yeah," we both responded. Heather very cautiously walked over and took her cleanse tag from Zubat. I didn't even realize he had it.

"Got your stuff back?" the espeon asks. Heather nods. "Then let's get the hell out of here."

_**The**____**Vaporeon**_

"Thanks for helping us," I tell the espeon.

"You're welcome. My name's Carry, by the way," the espeon replied.

"So, who are you?" Dark asked.

"Me? Well, I was a human. Fell through the ground and turned into an espeon," she said, totally serious. I was beyond confused, but Dark- he looked like this was a huge revelation to him. "I was told you needed a protector because people after you in the human world followed you into this world."

"I need a protector?" Dark asked, clarifying.

"Yes," Carry told him. "Do you get it?"

"Yeah. I do," Dark said. Carry notices how confused I am.

"So. We used to be humans. People were trying to kill Dark for some reason. They almost did, but Celebi saved him for said reason by throwing him through time and space. He lost his memories because of it," Carry explained. "I was dying, too. Celebi came into my dreams and taught me how to fight so I would know how to defend Dark, but she didn't tell me that at first. The day I died as a human she asked me to protect Dark. I said I would and she teleported me here as an espeon."

"Okay," I said. If Dark said it was correct, maybe it was. I just went with it.

"So, where are you guys going?" Carry asked. I explained to her what a rescue team was. She looks interested. "Mind if I join?" Carry wondered.

"Of course not!" I said with a smile. We headed to the Guild.

_**The**____**Vaporeon**_

Now came the trying part. I step onto the grate that leads into the guild.

"Who's footprint? Who's footprint?" the voice came. I wanted to yell at him so badly... "It's vaporeon's! It's vaporeon's! You may enter." I step off the grate, and Dark steps on.

"Who's footprint? Who's footprint?" the voice wondered aloud. "It's umbreon's! It's umbreon's! You may... enter." Dark steps off and joins me at the entrance, which is still blocked. Once they find out who Carry is, they'll let us in.

"Who's footprint? Who's footprint?" the voice came.

"Mine! I'm an espeon!" Carry yelled down, clearly annoyed.

"It's espeon's...? It's espeon's. You can come in," it said, and the entrance unblocked itself. The three of us entered.

As we climbed down the final rungs of the ladder, I noticed pokemon's conversations drifting up here. We stepped off the ladder and saw that they were all rescue teams gathering around, talking about adventures and treasure and danger! I could can't wait!

_**The**____**Umbreon**_

"What's with all the pokemon?" I asked Heather, whose eyes are gleaming with excitement.

"They're all other rescue teams," she explains. I notice that Carry is nodding her head in understanding. She catches my eye.

"I've been here for a day or two," she explained.

"Oh," I said. "I didn't know."

"Well, apparently not," Carry said as she walked into the big room.

I scanned the pokemon around me. There was poochyena in the corner, a group of starly in another. There was a Quilava and a dark-colored buizel in deep discussion near a wall. A starly and an arcanine conversed to our far right while a crogunk sat at a booth, a cauldron with glowing blueish liquid behind him. A lucario was speaking with a wigglytuff and a chatot to our left.

The walls around us were a light pink, but green vines occasionally stretched themselves across the bottom half of it. The floors were made of grass.

The lucario glances over at us. His eyes stick somewhere behind us, and suddenly he lashes out with a blue wave! (Like a sonic boom, except blue.) Heather flinches, but it wasn't meant to hit her. There are gasps.

"What the hell was that for?" she yelled. But I got it. The lucario wordlessly pointed behind us. Heather turns just in time to see the shadowed figure hiss as it dissipates, spiraling upwards into nothingness.

"What. The. Hell. Was. That?" Carry gawked.

"Um, an evil spirit, I believe. I think your cleanse tag has expired," the lucario said gently. "Would you like another one?"

"They can expire?" Heather asks curiously.

"Yeah. It takes years and years, though. How old were you when it was given to you?" He asks.

"I'm sixteen now, so it was given to me six years ago, when I was ten," Heather responds.

"Okay. I'll get another for you. Hold on a second," he padded past us and climbed quickly down the second ladder.

"That's Austin," the wigglytuff said, walking over. "I'm the guild master here, and this is Chatot, my right-paw man."

Chatot just nods.

"Well, a pleasure to meet you," Carry muttered under her breath. Only I hear her. The lucario, Austin, returns.

"Here you are," he said happily, handing the cleanse tag over to Heather.

"Thanks!" She said happily. Suddenly, a crash is heard. We all whip around to see a buizel land on the ground next to the ladder. He is bruised, and a few cuts make themselves known by dropping a few red blobs onto the floor.

"Wylie!" Austin rushes over and stands next to his friend. "What happened?"

"Austin, the mission was a trap." Wylie (why-ly, not willie) explains. "The kid was a hostage. He can fight, but he was already injured."

"Crap. Where is he now?" Austin asks, a quickness to his voice.

"They took him and fled deeper into the forest. I figured I was no good fainted," Wylie explains.

"Okay. Let's go." Austin said, and they rush back up. Carry turns to me.

"We have to help them. The runaway thing could be another trap!" Carry said.

"She's right," Heather agrees, "We have to help!"

"Of course! Let's go!" I say, and we rush back upstairs.

_**The**____**Kid**_

"Get the hell OFF me!" I yell at the skuntanks. The leader skuntank, Craeg, holds me by my arms in his jaws. I kick, but it does no use.

"Shut up, Oshawott. If it weren't for you that damn buizel would've been dead." The follower skuntank, Skun, declares.

"I have a name!" I yell out. Someone has to hear me, don't they?

"So? We don't care. Whatever you do, you'll be dead in the end. Might as well accept it." Skun's leader decides. His voice is muffled by my fur.

"No! I won't surrender to bullies like you!" I screech directly into his ear, my eyes flashing a red color.

"WELL, YOU SHOULD!" They both scream back at me. Craeg bites me, hard. I yelp with pain.

"Baby." Skun mutters.

"Asshole." The skuntanks whip around to face the buizel once more. A lucario was with him. _They__'__re__distracted__. __Now__'__s__my__chance__! _I realize. I use aqua jet, encasing myself in water that thuds against the pokemon's skull. He lets go of me, and I swerve to hit Skun, then flip and land back near the buizel and the lucario.

Skun starts with a smoke screen attack, filling the air with a dark, painful gas. I choke with a bought of coughing. I hear Buizel yelp, and then a thud. He screams, and I know one was using his claws to cut him apart... I try and help, but in the darkness I can't see a thing.

I hear another thud and know the lucario is now being forced against the wall, helpless to save his friend. I suddenly hear a hissing sound, and then there's a bright, bright blue flash of light. I feel myself being thrown. I land with a bump against the wall, and then the smoke clears.

Lucario is panting hard. The attack he just used was enough to faint Craeg. Skun is now only holding the fainted buizel, not cutting him anymore. I could not see his wounds and I didn't want to. He drops the bloody buizel and starts moving towards the lucario.

"HI-YA!" I hear a strange battle cry, and an Espeon comes out of nowhere. She bodyslams Skun into the wall, then nimbly jumps back to the cave entrance. An umbreon appears next, throwing a dark pulse. Last a vaporeon comes, and she emits a hydro pump. Skun falls to the floor, defeated.

"Thanks..." Lucario said, just before he faints.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

*Warning* It is supposed to be in past tense but I am more editing so people would understand what is going on as I've heard a lot of confusion. I decided I'd focus more on editing the storyline itself than grammar right now.

Hope you all enjoy!

_**The**____**Lucario**_

When I wake up, my hand instantly goes to my chest. The gash was still there. That meant, even though now we were safely in the guild, Wylie could still be dead, along with the kid. Worried, I sat up, flinching when the pain in my left arm caught up to me. The cast confirmed my fears: my left arm was broken.

I remembered that Wylie and I shared a room. _Duh__._ I look to my left.

The straw bed beside my own was empty.

I stand up, flinch, and race out of the room. I use my aura. I found the oshawott was okay. He was with Heather, Dark, and Carry.

Wylie, on the other paw, was in Chimecho's room. The nice pokemon not only ran the place where you could pick your team members, but was also the nurse here.

I got up as fast as I could and ran like hell until I was in the doorway of the hospital. _OPERATING_, a sign above the door stated in glowing letters. I sent my senses inside the room. Wylie was in surgery.

"No," I whispered. My mind jumped to a conclusion, forced me to start thinking about life without my best friend... I didn't notice someone sneak up beside me.

"Austin?" I jumped. It was Heather.

"Hi," I greeted her.

"Are you okay?" she asked. I looked at the letters on the door again.

"I will be," I said quietly.

"Jared wants to talk to you," Heather said.

"Who?" I wondered. I hadn't heard the name.

"The oshawott," Heather told me. "You remember, right?

"Yes. Thank you," I tell her. _So__that__'__s__his__name__. _She leads me into the main room.

"Uh... how about Team CIA?" Carry suggests. _What__the__hell__is__the__CIA__?_

"Team what?" Jared asks.

"Never mind." She mutters in response. Jared perks when I come in.

"Thanks!" He said. "For saving me, I mean."

"It's my job." I answer with a smile. "Glad to do it."

_**The**____**Oshawott**_

A while later, we're still arguing about the team name. Still.

"Guys!" Heather shouts above our yelling. "How about Team Sound?"

We all turn it over in our heads for a moment. "I like it." I offer.

"Me, too." Carry said. We look at Dark, who nods.

"Wigglytuff!" We all yell for her.

"What?" Chatot appears, looking pissed. _Why__is__it__so__much__fun__to__piss__him__off__? _Carry could almost not hide her smile of amusement, so it obviously wasn't just me..

"Wigglytuff said to call when we figured out our name." Carry explains innocently. Chatot eyes us for a moment, then said to go in.

"Hello, Guild Master." Heather said.

"Hi! Have you four all agreed on your team name?" The big pink pokemon asks.

"Team Sound." Dark said.

"I like it!" Wigglytuff agrees. He walks into a corner of his room, then comes back with an adventure bag! "Open it!"

He hands it to Dark. Dark pulls out a Wonder Map, a cleanse tag (for Heather, I think), a dodge scarf (for Carry, Wiggly said), a pair of X-ray specs (for me), and a key on a chain (for Dark).

"Where does it go to?" Dark asks. I glance at Carry. The black scarf suits her.

"That's for you to find out." Wigglytuff said with a smirk. Dark simply nods. "Now! Go on a mission!" Wiggly instructs, and we leave after saying our thanks.

_**The**____**Espeon**_

"This cave is freaking creepy. And. Wet." I mutter. Of all the places, Drenched Bluff. Dark seemed not too happy about all the wet, but Jared and Heather didn't really care. As far as I know, they _like_wet. I do not.

We were forced here, though. This mission, to find a dropped water plate, was the only one on the board. I was pretty mad about it. Why the hell couldn't the kid come back and get it himself? I mean, he made it here once, why couldn't he do it again? Sure, he broke an arm. Brake the other one and he'd have a matching set.

"I'm not such a fan myself." Dark grumbles in response, slowing his pace to walk near me.

Meanwhile, Jared and Heather continue a bit ahead of us, stepping in the very puddles Dark and I are trying to avoid.

"I've heard stories that there's a treasure at the end of the cave." Jared said to Heather. "But if you touch it, the whole place is flooded."

"Once we get the tablet thingy, we could go and find it." Heather suggests.

"Let's just finish the mission and get out." I say, annoyed.

"The two items are both supposed to be on the same floor." Heather explains.

We abruptly hear thunder. I vaguely remembered that the sky had been cloudy earlier. I stupidly looked above me, forgetting that we were still on the dungeon's first floor. There was a crack in the ceiling above us. Water suddenly started _pouring_down on me.

"Fu-"

_**The**____**Oshawott**_

Two hours later, we still haven't found the plate. We had gone up and down all floors of the dungeon several times and were pretty sick of looking, so a few minutes ago we had decided to split up and start looking in groups of two, that way covering more ground and doing it faster. Carry and I somehow ended up on one team, Dark and Heather on the other.

"Is that it?" I ask, pointing to a flat-ish stone.

"No." Carry said.

"That?" I point to another one.

"No." She mutters.

"How do you even know what it looks like?" I ask, exasperated.

"I don't. I just know it doesn't look like that!" She hisses.

"You're just mad because you're a wet cat." I mutter to myself.

"You got that right." Is her annoyed response. I sigh and continue to search through the cave.

Something catches my eye.

"That one? That one right there. I'm sure that's it!" I insist. She's not even looking now! "CARRY! Look!" I yell. She does, and her eyes widen.

"I think that IS it!" She agrees happily, and we rush over and pick it up. The blue, flat stone had some letters engraved onto it.

"We found it!" I shouted excitedly. "We can go home!"

"And dry off and be warm!" Carry said happily. "Let's find Dark and Heather and get the hell out of here!"

Then there was a loud crash.

"Thunder?" I wondered.

"No," Carry said, her eyebrows furrowing. Carry angled her head to look behind me. She gasped, her eyes widening.

I turned around. "Crap," I whispered in fear.

_**The**____**Vaporeon**_

"Dark, you think this is a wild goose chase?" I asked him.

"Yup." He responded. "Let's go home now."

"Oh, you just don't like being wet!" I protested. I raced ahead of him and pounced in all the puddles, splashing water all over him.

"Hey!" He protests. I laugh and run.

"Can't catch me!" I yell playfully.

"Heather! Stop!" I hear Dark shout.

I frowned. He sounded worried. I shrugged it off, deciding he was worried about nothing. _No__, __Dark__, __I__won__'__t__bump__into__a__wall__. __I__promise__._

"Nice try, Dark!" I turn my head to face him as I yell. I hit something hard yet soft.

"Crap." Dark mumbled from behind me.

"Huh!" I gasped as I looked up. I had bumped into a huge floatzel.

"Hello, little lady," the floatzel grins down at me.

"Heather!" Dark yells suddenly. "Look at that!"

I whip around to face him.

"Hello, kids!" a skuntank shouts as pads slowly into the room. He walks up to Dark with a smirk on his face and before Dark or I could react the skuntank shoves his claws into Dark's shoulder and then _chucks_ him against the cave wall. Dark yells in pain as his body crashes into it with a loud thump.

_Where__in__hell__did__these__guys__come__from__?_

I turn back to the pokemon in front of me. The floatzel lunges, but I am too quick for it. I dodge left and use hydro pump. It's blown into the wall (next to the doorway we had been headed to) with a bang. I whip around and throw a water pulse at the skuntank as he walks back over to Dark. It hits him hard, but he doesn't flinch.

I hear footsteps and turn back to the entrance we'd been heading to. "Back up already?" I demand, but am relieved to see that Carry and Jared are standing in the entranceway next to the floatzel. Unfortunately, the floatzel gets up and attacks, but Jared fights back using razor shell and faints the floatzel. He falls right back into the very spot he had just gotten up from.

I hear a scream and turn to see the darn skuntank with its claws buried into Dark's other shoulder.

Carry said something I will not repeat, then uses a combination of quick attack and body slam, knocking the skuntank off of Dark. Hissing, she bites down on his neck until I see blood leaking out of him. She then takes his shoulder in her jaws and throws _him_across the room. He lands near me. I take this moment and use an ice fang, biting into his leg. Jared comes over and uses hydro cannon, blowing the pokemon out of my unforgivingly cold jaws and into the wall opposite the floatzel. He crashes and does not wake up.

"We got the damn plate! Let's get the hell out of here!" Carry yells. I go over and carefully pick up Dark by the scruff in my jaws. His eyes were closed: I thought he was out. But he whimpered an "ow" as I lifted him off the ground. I put him back down and took a good look at him.

He was clearly bruised and probably had broken a bone or two. There were three long, jagged, and deep gashes across both his shoulders, a total six in all. Blood was oozing out of them, and I could see Dark's flesh beneath all of it. He was very tense from all the pain, and thanks to me he was still wet. Or were those tears?

I didn't let myself wonder. I took him by the scruff again. He didn't make a sound that time, but I knew it hurt him. What else could I do? _I__'__m__sorry__, _I thought, wishing he could hear.

The three of us then realize something crucial.

"We can use the damn badges!" Carry exclaims. I put Dark down gently.

"My gosh, you're right!" I agree, and we all get them out of the bag Jared holds. I take out Dark's, too, and put it between his paws. We teleport magically out of there.

I hope you all enjoyed!


	5. Chapter 5

_**Chapter 5**_

_**The Lucario**_

When I woke up to a familiar melody of a human song, I knew something was wrong. I heard songs carried across different worlds all the time, but none were bent to shape a different meaning.

The wind, if you didn't know, can carry songs. Today she carried a song called the _Irish Ballad. _Wylie and I heard that one a lot. But never like this:

_Down in Treasure Town on the bubbly beach,_

_A team made a vow to be true._

_But then came a problem, that separated,_

_And the team split to find the truth._

_When the secret stone tablet is resting in our hands,_

_Oh, then we will reunite._

_So then Heather and Dark went a single thought way,_

_Jared and Carry chose another._

_But real trouble was soon to start for the two._

_An evil force who traveled in time_

_Dark was thrown and injured, but Heather would fight for them,_

_Luckily, the others returned._

_When the secret stone tablet is resting in our hands,_

_Oh, then we will reunite._

_A rage of scarlet fever started down at the guild,_

_and Dark would be the first to be took._

_Unless someone could find the secret flower_

_and bring it before he died_

"_When the blessing of health is mine once again,_

_we all will be happy."_

All I got from that was the fact that Dark was supposed to die.


	6. Chapter 6

_****_Hey, peoplez! ENJOY!

* * *

_**Chapter 6**_

_**The Arcanine**_

"Seth, any clue why Wigglytuff is calling us?" I ask my partner, nervously. The starly beside me has unusual blue eyes. That why I like him. He's like me: different. My eyes were a murky green and I was not much bigger than a Growlithe.

"Sorry, Ser. I don't." Seth responds. He calls me Ser, but my real name's Seraphinus. "Hope we're not in trouble."

As we enter the room our guild master claims as his, we realize we aren't alone. Chatot, as always, and two other pokemon, a lucario and a buizel, joined us and Wigglytuff.

"Hi!" Wigglytuff greets.

"Hello," I offer carefully. Seth only nods.

"Today I must ask a sad mission for the four of you." Unexpectedly, the pink pokemon starts at the point. "Dark, an umbreon in Rescue Team Sound, has been injured badly. Unfortunately, his gashes have become infected with a rare disease called Scarlet Fever. If we do not get him a flower known simply as the Healer's Charm, our friend will die."

"I could try healing him." The buizel suggests, sounding desperate.

"Wylie," Wigglytuff says quietly, "you know that flower is the only thing that can cure Scarlet Fever."

"We'll leave now." The lucario suggests, then turns to us. "Is that all right?"

"Where is it?" Seth asks.

"The last floor of Crystal Cave." Wigglytuff tells us.

"Well..." Seth thinks for a moment. I whisper to him that we are prepared. "Okay. Let's go."

_**The Buizel**_

"Why are we at Waterfall Cave?" Seth asks, annoyed. Clearly, he is not a fan of water.

"The quickest way to get to Crystal Cave is through the waterfall." I explain. His eyes widen with fear, then narrow with the smirk coming across his face.

"It'll only lead us to the hot springs." Seth says slyly.

Austin laughs. "Not the way we do it, kid. Sorry."

We arrive at the dungeon entrance and start walking through it. Austin and I blast all the pokemon we see away.

"Wait! Are you serious about this?" Seth asks, sounding both extremely annoyed and a little frightened.

"Yup." Austin says. "Dark is depending on the four of us. The quicker, the better chance we have of saving him."

"Who's Dark?" The small arcanine asks. He told us to call him "Ser."

"He's a friend of ours. He and his team probably saved our lives." I tell Ser and Seth.

"HAH!" We all whip around. A whiscash dares to challenge the four of us. Austin whips a small aura sphere from the tips of his fingers to the floor in front of the pokemon, causing smoke to blow up in its face. We make a run for it.

_**The Starly**_

"No. I'm _not _doing this!" I say. We stare at the big huge jem, knowing that touching it will activate the flooding. And that the flooding would blow us out of the top of the cave.

"You don't have to." Austin responds. He and Wylie have their backs turned to Ser and I, as they're about to push the huge crystal.

"I _hate _water. You guys like it and don't mind." I protest.

"You think I like water?" Austin retorts, turning to face me. "I'm doing this because my friend needs me now. I won't let a little water stand in my way."

"I... I don't understand. Doesn't Scarlet Fever take weeks to kill someone?" I ask. "I've been wondering why we're in such a hurry."

"It only takes two days." Wylie says sadly. "Yesterday was the first. Dark needs it by tonight..."

My eyes widen, and I swallow all fears. Ser steps up beside me, and I know he feels the same way. "Well, then, what are we waiting for?"

"Thanks." Austin smiles, and he and Wylie press on the _back _of the stone. What's with that?

I don't have much time to wonder. The waves crash down on us almost instantly, and we are shoved upwards at an angle. I am beaten against rock after rock, and quickly loose my breath. _Am I going to __drown? _I wonder. This is why I hate water. Or, one reason.

But, as soon as it started, it ended. We land on the the hard, rocky surface of Mt. Bristle with a thud. Wylie stands up and shakes himself, purposely splashing Austin.

"I'm going to get you now!" Austin yells playfully, and jumps on Wylie. Ser and I laugh. The two sopping-wet pokemon are slow and clumsy with the added weight of the water on them. Then I notice something.

Wylie has a scar on his chest that looks like a tick-tack-toe board. Every space in it has O's or X's in it except for the center... _What cruel pokemon would scratch a game onto someone's chest? _I wonder with horror.

By now, Austin and Wylie have collapsed onto the ground, panting hard. But, they're laughing.

_**The Buizel**_

"Let's go now. We've wasted time." I pant. Austin gets up and walks to a corner and shakes the water from his fur. I do the same, and then part my fur so the scars don't show. "Ready, guys?" I ask as I finish. They nod, and we step into the cave.

_**The Buizel**_

Mount Bristle was like not like it sounded. Yes, it was a mountain, but it wasn't prickly or bristly. Instead, it was rocky and rough. I can't count the amount of pebbles that have gotten stuck between my toes. Seth seems extremely irritated, but that's probably because his feathers are still wet. Plus, the higher we climb, the colder it gets. Everyone's pretty cold right now. Seth hasn't shut up, but Austin and Ser have been talking about other mountains. Ser looks alright, but the water hadn't been good to him. Being a fire type was probably keeping him warm, though. Austin grew up on a mountain (I know that, at least) so he's pretty used to it.

"There's the stairs." I point.

"YES!" Seth shouted. "Finally! I hate this cave!"

"You hate being wet!" Ser argues, showing a rare, genuine smile.

"What _ever! _Let's get the flower and get the hell out of here!" Seth declares.

"Fine, let's-" I stop. Austin has frozen in place, his eyes opening wide. He whips to face behind me. The others gasp. I turn around... too late.


	7. Chapter 7

Hey, guys! I'm really sorry I haven't updated in so long. I really, really am. But here's the next chap, sooooo...

ENJOY!

* * *

_**Chapter 7**_

_**The Lucario**_

I wake up to the darkness of a cave. A small one with rocks blocking the entrance. Only a sliver of light leaked in through a crack in the rocks.

"Shit..." I mutter. _What in hell happened? I don't remember anything at all! _My mind struggled to figure out what happened... "What the hell happened?" I voice the question.

"Not sure..." Ser says drowsily. I jumped at his voice, not realizing he was there. "I feel drunk. In a bad way."

"Like headache and memory loss?" Seth asks. He sounds the same as Ser and I did.

"Yeah." I mutter. "Wylie?"

"He isn't here." Seth says. He takes a moment to look around. "How the hell are we going to be getting out of here?" His usual annoyed attitude is back, which makes me happy. _At least one of us is getting back to normal._

"You won't... Not until you answer our questions." A deep voice rings. All three of us jump to our feet, and Ser growls instantly.

"Who's there?" He demands through bared teeth.

"I'm the leader of Rescue Team SPR, or Suspicious Pokemon Researcher." The voice rings. "My name is Bob Brown."

"What a fitting name." Seth mutters. "I bet he's just as boring as his name."

"I bet he's a lunatic." I grumble in response. "Team Suspicious Pokemon Researcher. Wow."

Then something hits me.

"Dark is dying!" I shout without helping myself. "We need to get out!" I get up and stalk up to the rock wall. "Where the hell is Wylie?"

"Who? The buizel?" Bob asks.

"Yeah. Answer me." I say.

"Him." He sounds angry with Wylie. _Good. Must've pissed him off. He deserves it. _"He has resisted my psychic powers. I cannot erase his memory." _WHAT THE HELL?_

"So it was you!" I yell Now I'm _really _getting mad.

"Yes. I did well, didn't I? Only an hour has passed, but you don't remember anything from today, do you?" He asks, a pleased sneer in his voice.

"You're an asshole!" I yell. "I remember that my friend is DYING! He's got scarlet fever! If you don't let us out, he won't make it!" I scream, hoping he'll get it through his thick head that I'm telling the truth.

"I don't believe that one bit." He retorts. "Why are you here?"

"We need to get sicily's rose! That's the only thing that can cure scarlet fever!" I yell.

"Austin? That you?" I hear a familiar voice.

"Wylie! What's happening?" I call.

"Well, I just woke up. They're trying to erase my memory. Hypnosis was their last trick." Wylie explains calmly. "Use your power. I got the rose, so let's get the hell out of here."

"No kidding." I agree. "Step back, Seth, Ser." I warn. Then Ser and Seth gasp at the light my aura sphere creates. It radiates power, more so than a normal one might. I chuck it against the wall. It explodes, and crumbles... a little. "Damn it!" I swear loudly.

"You're never going to get out." The voice snickers annoyingly. I ram myself against the wall a few times. Ser and Seth join me, but we don't make a dent...

"That's. It." I feel rage and adrenaline rush through my veins. The boys suck in a breath as they hear and see three-inch claws slide out of my paws. I bring my right paw back to my ear, and hear the hissing and feel the power of aura gathering at my fingertips. I throw my paw down across my body, expelling the power in the form of a slash. Like what I did to Heather's evil spirit, except more powerful.

It crashed against the wall with a loud bang. It crumples, revealing a scared-looking espeon. Bob, I'm guessing.

A little away from us, Wylie is held by an ursaring and a hoothoot stands by, making faces and saying random words that supposedly have a meaning of some sort. I look down at the espeon.

"Bye." I say. Seth and Ser carefully venture out of the cave. Seth glares at Bob and Ser bares his teeth and growls.

I walk up to the ursaring. He growls at me. "Let's leave." I suggest. Wylie takes a breath, then uses aqua jet. The big bear doesn't even know what hit him. Wylie lands neatly beside me.

I look back at the espeon. Seth and Ser are demanding the bag back. Shaking, the pokemon points towards hoothoot, who jumps with surprise and rushes down a chamber. He returns with the bag and takes off.

"Retreat!" The espeon yells, and he and the ursaring make a break for it. Suddenly, I hear something heart-stoppingly familiar...

_When the secret stone tablet is resting in our hands,_

"We need to hurry!" I realize. We run to the bag and whip our badges out.

_Oh, then we will reunite._

We teleport, landing outside the guild.

_A rage of scarlet fever started down at the guild,_

"Whose footprints? Whose footprints?" Diglet's voice chimes up.

"Austin's! It's an emergency! We need to get in!" I yell down.

"... Okay! We'll open the gate. Only because we know your voice, though..." Diglet calls back up.

_and Dark would be the first to be took._

We four rush in and down the ladder. "Chimecho! Where are you?" I call for her. Carry, Heather, and Jared appear, looking relieved.

_Unless someone could find the secret flower,_

They lead Wylie and I into Dark's room. Dark, looking sick and red, is on a straw bed in the center of the room. He's hooked up to several medical equipment pieces. A pot of boiling water is set aside on a portable stove top, waiting for the flower. It boils slowly.

_and bring it before he died,_

"It's ready!" Chimecho yells frantically. She pours it into an IV bag, and hooks it up to Dark.

_"Now the end is nearer than we all could have thought,_

_Let's hope I am lying tonight..."_

* * *

Hey, sorry... I'm leaving you at a terrible cliffhanger... for at least two days... I'm sorry...


	8. Chapter 8

OH MY GAWD! I HAD THIS IN MY DOC MANAGER FOR TWO WEEKS! I THOUGH I POSTED! I AM REAAAAAALLLLY SORRY!

Hey, guys! I'm really sorry, I didn't know I left you all at the worst possible cliff hanger on the planet earth.

ENJOY!

* * *

_**Chapter 8**_

_**The Espeon**_

"What's his progress?" I ask Chimecho. We're in Dark's room. It's been another two days since the flower, and he's still breathing. I think that's a good sign. Right?

"Same as five minutes ago, Carry." Chimecho sighs. "Why don't you, Jared, and Heather go on a mission or something? I'll send someone to get you if he wakes up."

I pretend to think about this for a moment. "No."

"Carry. Go. Now." Chimecho demands. "It's for your own good."

So, I get kicked out of the infirmary. No big deal. I walk into the main hallway and hang a right into the bedrooms. I keep walking until I get to our door, big and red. I don't bother knocking: I'm good at being silent. I thought they'd be sleeping, but when I enter Jared and Heather are deep in conversation. They don't notice me, so I talk.

"Wanna go on a mission?" I ask them.

"Yes!" They both shout at the same time.

"Okay, then, let's go." I suggest, and excited energy starts passing through me. We haven't been out of the guild in days!

We race out of the hallway and make our way to the board with criminals. We're all in the mood for some action.

"How about this one?" Heather asks, pulling one down. There's a drowsee on it, looking sinister. "A little azurill was captured. Oh no!"

"Better go save him!" I say happily. "To Mt. Bristol!"

_**The Oshawott**_

"I liked Waterfall Cave better." I say as we enter the third floor. "But I still like this one."

"I like this better." Carry puts in.

"I bet I know why." Heather laughs. "Hey! Look! A berry." Heather rushes to pick it up and brings it back to me, and I put it into the bag.

"A pecha berry." I observe. It looks like a peach.

We keep walking, slowly finding our way through floor after floor. I believe we're on our second-to-last before we hear the scream. We all exchange a worried glance before taking off... only to have a boulder land directly in front of the entrance. I whip around, teeth bared out of habit. There's another espeon, a hoothoot, and an ursaring.

"Hello... um-" Heather starts nicely.

"What the heck was that for?" Carry cuts her off. "You could have killed one of us!"

The espeon steps forward. "The name's Bob. Who are you and what are you doing here?"

"Why should we tell you?" I demand.

"Because, I'm the leader of Rescue Team SPR, or Suspicious Pokemon Researcher." He says. "It's our job to know!"

"We're Rescue Team Sound. We are here to save an azurill." Heather says, holding up the paper and her badge.

"Are you guys bothering people again?" I hear Wylie's voice come from behind them. Bob goes rigid still, fear shaking his body. Ursaring and hoothoot go still, ears pricking, eyes widening.

"It's Wylie! RUN!" Bob shouts, and they rush past us, pushing the boulder away. Wylie appears with his arms crossed. He's snickering.

"They're the idiots who kidnapped us." He explains, and my memory goes back to the explanation of why he, Austin, Ser, and Seth took so long getting back. We hear more screams, and clear the way as the idiots rush back out. They stop, seeing Wylie. He side-steps, and they run screaming past him. "Found Austin."

"Well, sorry!" Austin appears from where Team SPR just came from. "I got warped. Again."

"Austin! You can _see _those things on the ground!" Wylie exclaims, motioning downwards.

"I was paying more attention to the pokemon around us, excuse me!" Austin retorts. He is standing beside his friend now.

"You're impossible." Wylie says, shaking his head with a smile of laughter on his face.

"Nope. Sorry. I'm Austin." He says. They look to each other with smirks on their faces.

"Well, then, _Austin._" Wylie says, then shoulders him. Austin repeats the movement. Of course, they end up wrestling on the ground. The only thing that sets them apart is the scream.

"Probably Azurill." I mutter. Austin and Wylie get up, and Austin uses his aura.

"That way." Austin points. His face is grave. "You'd better hurry; he's in trouble."

"Thanks!" I yell and rush down the tunnel Austin had directed us in. Carry and Heather rush after.

_**The Espeon**_

We raced along the rocky path until we came to a large room. In the center, a drowsee pulled a young azurill, screaming, in the direction of the wall. They were heading to the hole, I guessed.

"Hey!" I yelled. The drowsee freezes, then slowly turns around. He smirks. "Skun! Your prey is here!"

I automatically dodge left, taking Jared in my jaws so he isn't hit. The skuntank misses, and I put the protesting Jared down.

"Who the hell are you?" I demand.

"I'm Skun. That little umbreon friend of yours is my target." The skuntank sneers. "He came from the human world, and I followed. Just came here to make sure he was dead."

I make a quick decision. "Well, he is!" I yell. "I hope you're happy!" I dig my claws into the hard ground and clench my eyes shut, tilting my head down. Using this as cover, I try and send a message to Heather and Jared, who are looking horrified right about now.

"I have no quarrel with you. Goodbye." Skun turns to leave, a satisfied smirk sitting smugly on his face.

"Get. Back. Here." Heather breathes, anger sizzling in the air like fire.

"No. I don't-"

"Coward!" She yells, and launches herself at him. He tries to swat her away, but it doesn't work. He misses, and she scratches up his face with ice claw. She jumps away afterwords, taking a moment to breathe. Jared steps up next, blowing a hydro cannon at him. He knocks into the wall.

Meanwhile, Drowsee drags Azurill into the hole, covering his mouth. I realize this with a glance that way and run after them.

_**The Espeon**_

The hole connects to a short and narrow tunnel that snakes its way underground. _How does that fat-ass drowsee manage to get through here? _My mind mutters. It finally ends, and I slowly crawl out. I prepare for any attack, but when I look around they're gone. I see a single tunnel (a normal-sized one, thank my lucky stars) and head that way, careful to keep my footsteps silent.

I hear a voice, scarily calm, as I near the end of it. "Give me it, please."

A terrified squeak of a voice responds. "But, but, I don't have it! I lost it!"

"I'm talking about that map! Not that damn water float!" The voice screeches back.

"Somebody save me!" The squeak wails, and I hear the nauseating sound of a paw against a cheek.

"Stop crying!" The deep voice snaps. "Where is it! Tell me!"

"It's at home! I didn't bring it!" The squeak's wails dye down a bit. It grows curious. "Why do you want it, Mister?"

"It tells you where the portal is! Then I can finally get back to being a human!" _The crazy bas- wait, human? _I was very interested now.

"Human?" The squeak asks.

"Yes! And if I'm lucky, the record will be there." The voice continues. I'm guessing it's Drowsee.

"The records?" Guessing it's the little azurill.

"Yes! They will tell me all about my human life. And whether I want to return to it or not." Drowsee continues.

"What's a human?" The kid asks.

Drowsee sighs, annoyed. "Everything I say is wasted on you."

"What's damn mean?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing? Like-"

"SHUT UP!"

Azurill shuts up.

At this point, I step in. "Come on, Azurill, time to go home." I say. He brightens and rushes forward. Or, tries to. Drowsee stops him.

"No. Where's the map?" Drowsee tries one more time.

"I thought everything you said was wasted on him." I sneer, and his jaw drops for half a second. I launch forward and body slam him away from the kid. I use psybeam and then fury swipes. He stays down long enough for me to grab the blue fluffy thing and make a break for it.

* * *

Sorry to say, but I still won't be updating for awhile. I'm a few chapters away from finishing my other story (even though most of it still isn't published) but I will update again as soon as possible... which won't be for at least another week. Once again, I'm really sorry guys.


	9. Chapter 9

This chap is pretty short, but I wanted to get it out. The next chap won't be ere for a couple of days- a week.

As always...

ENJOY!

_**Chapter 9**_

_**The Espeon**_

When Azurill and I met up with Heather and Jared again, they both had pleased smirks on their faces. Jared had a small stripe of red across his right cheek and Heather had a black eye, but otherwise the two seemed fine. I didn't ask how it went. Skun was laying across from us, defeated. He was no doubt part of the so-called Them that Celebi had warned me about.

We used our badges to get the hell out of there.

_**The Espeon**_

When we got back, Azurill's older brother, Marill, was here to meet us.

"Azurill! Are you okay?" His brother asked, giving him a hug.

"I'm great!" He cheered.

Marill turned to Heather, Jared and I. "Thank you three so, so much. I don't know what I would have done without this little guy."

"No problem." I say.

"Here." Marill hands us a map. "We don't have a lot of money, but we do have this. Hopefully you can find some use for it."

"Thank you." Heather takes the map from him and inspects it. "I think it's a treasure map! Are you sure you want to give it to us?"

"Yes." He says.

"We can definitely find a use for it." Heather responds.

"Team Sound! Come here!" Chimecho appears from nowhere, looking extremely happy.

Excited, we follow her.

_**The Umbreon**_

_Well, I'm not dead. Surprise, surprise, _my mind chimes. I sit up and open my eyes.

"Dark! You're awake!" Carry hugs me for half a second. Heather hugs me, too, but for a whole second.

"Um, yeah." I say, confused.

"Do you know how long you've been asleep?" Carry asks.

"No." I guess. "A couple hours?"

"Three weeks!" Jared exclaims.

"What?" I'm shocked. Three whole weeks? Asleep? And I didn't even realize it!

"You heard him! Three frickin' weeks!" Carry says.

"Well, clearly you're alright." I notice Chimecho in the corner. She steps- glides, I mean- over. "You can leave whenever you want."

I blink. _When exactly can I not?_

There's a knock at the door. Wigglytuff steps in. "Since all four of you are fine now, I'm sending you to happy outlook. There's a latias there. Carry?"

"Yeah?" She asks.

"Two things. One, make sure Dark doesn't hurt himself again. Two, ask the latias if she knows what the map is all about, okay?" She asks her. Carry nods. After the guild master leaves, soon followed by Chimecho, Carry hands me the map. It looks like an ordinary treasure map, except it has markings all over it. Happy Outlook has a red _X _on it.

"Well, let's go." I suggest. With a happy smile, everyone agrees. We're off.

_**The Oshawott**_

Happy Outlook is easy. The pokemon are wimps... as far as we know. No one has challenged us. Some pokemon have even cleared the way for us. Dark and Carry are growing more and more suspicious with each step we take, but Heather and I have a different idea.

"Maybe Latias knew we were coming and asked the pokemon not to harm us." We suggest.

"I don't know. Maybe." Dark responds. He looks to be thinking about it.

"I doubt it." Carry decides.

"You'd doubt anything good to happen." I mutter.

"Well, yeah." She says. "I have trust issues."

"No kidding." I retort.

Dark stops. We all do, too. Everyone goes on high alert, our ears pricking.

_What now?_

* * *

_**Hope you guys liked it! I have a poll running now. Anyone care to check it out?**  
_


	10. Chapter 10

YO! I HAVE DECIDED TO CONTINUE THIS STORY!

ENJOY!

_**Chapter 10**_

_**The Oshawott**_

"What's wrong?" Heather asks.

Dark looks to the right. A slight breeze washes through the room, its cooling sensation welcoming. With it comes a song, sang by the prettiest of voices.

_Remember the anger_

_Remember the pride_

_Remember the happiness_

_Remember those who died_

_Remember to keep the notes and the words._

_Remember that one day they'll all form a song._

_Remember the ones who died at your hand._

_But remember the song of the voices you saved._

_Remember the nights you sat there and cried._

_For the voices who were lost at your hand came to haunt you._

_But those voices killed every ear that they touched._

_The melody of their song like the devil itself._

_Remember the anger._

_Remember the pride._

_Remember the happiness._

_Remember those who died._

_Remember to keep the notes and the words._

_Remember that one day they'll all form a song._

_Remember the voices._

_Remember the sand._

_Remember the sinking._

_Remember your hand._

_Remember the pull of another world._

_Remember the knowledge._

_Remember... Your hand._

_Remember to keep the notes and the words._

_Remember that one day they'll all form a song._

The latias appeared from the tunnel. Before I fainted, I heard three final words, repeated without a melody: remember the anger.

Blackness hit me like a wave of warm water. You could feel it, but it didn't hurt.

_**The Umbreon**_

_**Years Ago, The First Of a Series Of Memories Not Remembered**_

They told me she'd make it.

That was the first thing I remembered.

Then the rest came back with a whoosh.

"What's wrong with Mommy?" I wondered.

"She's very sick," my father told me on the way to the hospital. Of course, he wouldn't tell me why she was sick, or with what.

"When Mom come home?" my little sister, who spoke at age two, asked.

My father swallowed a lump in his throat. "She's not, honey."

"Why?" was my immediate response. But by then we were parked and getting out. My father escaped that question by a thread. Saved by the bell, I believe.

The room was pink, like a carnation. The first time we had visited, she was strong. Her voice was normal, she had all her hair, no IV. The next time she had patches of hair missing and she looked... older. The third time she was bald from the chemotherapy, and her eyes were darkened. Our mother looked very tired. The fourth and last time we'd see our mother in the hospital, she was on life support. She could just barely keep her eyes open, which were black and unfamiliar. She looked way older than her years, and exhaustion dominated her face.

She said she loved us with the last strength she had. Her head hit the pillow with a thump, and her eyes did not open again. She smiled when she died.

_**The Umbreon**_

I cried when I woke up. I was on the floor. Before it had been soft, warm, and grassy. Now it seemed cold and unforgiving.

When I cry, you don't hear me. My black fur hides my red cheeks. My eyes are closed. Again, my black fur comes in use because you don't notice the wet tears. I don't sniffle loudly. I breath through my mouth so it sounds controlled.

I jump when I feel a paw on my shoulder.

"I'm sorry I had to show you that. It's the beginning," Latias explains. "You four have a map with weird markings on it, right?"

"Yeah, we do," Carry says. She hands it to the latias, who shows us what the symbols mean.

Apparently, before I was brought here I had drawn this map based on legends and pokemon and people who could travel freely between these worlds. It was called the Impact Map because each symbol meant whether a legendary had little to lots of effect on the world. The symbol meaning the impact was drawn on the pokemon's normal location, so if anyone bad got their paws on this, then they'd know where each legend was... and that could never be good.

Dark's Key Of Impact

X - level one impact

# - level two impact

^^ - level three impact

& - level four impact

* - level five impact

"Now, go," Latias tells us. "And when or if you need help, call the wind..." Suddenly, an incredibly strong air current whooshed through the space, and Latias's form scattered as dust with the wind.

The current stopped.

"Let's get out of here," I mumble and stand up.

Hope you enjoyed!


	11. Chapter 11

Well, my friends, this is a work in progress. I will keep hacking at it, put instead of a big pick I'll be using one of those tiny little needle-pick things. Writer S. Block, my new worst enemy, has taken my big pick and given it to Russia. (If any of you catch that reference. If not, don't worry, wasn't anything truly interesting, just me attempting to be funny. xD)

ENJOY!

Chapter 11

_**The**____**Oshawott**_

Clearly, Dark was not happy. He walked with his head down. There was no expression on his face, which just made him seem sadder. His eyes were darting back and forth across the ground. I could tell he was thinking some pretty intense thoughts.

Suddenly Carry stops, sits up, and then does a paw-palm. "We have badges, gosh damn it! How many times have we forgotten them!?"

And so we teleported back to the base.

_**The**____**Vaporeon**_

It was raining back at the base, but still Dark went outside. I snuck up the ladder and peered outside at him.

His head was down, water dropping from his soaked fur. It looked like those sad scenes in movies when the whole world cried at your loss.

I don't know how, but I knew he was crying. There was no slight shake of his shoulders, no piercing, terrible cry. All there was was him, head down. Maybe this was how Dark cried.

"Heather, leave him." I look down to see Carry, who was looking up at me with a sad and knowing expression.

"Okay," I said reluctantly, and I get back down.

"Hey," Jared said as we join him back in the room. Even he sounded depressed.

"Hey," I said back, and I lay in my bed, facing the ceiling.

"Why are we all so depressed?" Carry asked, plopping down in her own bed.

"Who knows," I said. "Maybe Dark being so sad makes us all so sad."

"Wouldn't surprise me," Carry said. "Happiness runs in a circular motion, why wouldn't sadness?"

"What?" Jared and I asked at the same time.

"It's a song," Carry explained.

"Is it happy?" I asked next.

Carry shrugged. "Sometimes."

"Sing it for us," Jared pleaded. "Please?"

"If you insist," she said, and she rolled over in her bed to face the ceiling, like me. "It's by a guy named Donovan Leitch."

"_Little__pebble__upon__the__sand_

_Now__you__'__re__lying__here__in__my__hand__,_

_How__many__years__have__you__been__here__?_

_Little__human__upon__the__sand__,_

_From__where__I__'__m__lying__here__in__your__hand__,_

_You__to__me__are__but__a__passing__breeze__._

_The__sun__will__always__shine__where__you__stand_

_Depending__in__which__land_

_You__may__find__yourself__._

_Now__you__have__my__blessing__, __go__your__way__._

_Happiness__runs__in__a__circular__motion_

_Thought__is__like__a__little__boat__upon__the__sea__._

_Everybody__is__a__part__of__everything__anyway__,_

_You__can__have__everything__if__you__let__yourself__be__._

_Happiness__runs__, __happiness__runs__._

_Happiness__runs__, __happiness__runs__."_

_(__RIKKILUCARIO__7 __RECOGNIZES__THAT__SHE__DOES__NOT__OWN__THIS__SONG__.)_

For a long time no one said anything. After awhile Carry sang it again. Jared asked for it only once more, but Carry ended up singing it about ten times upon our asking.

And when Dark came in in the middle of the night, dry, we were all up and Carry sang once more. Jared and I whispered the lyrics to ourselves, committing them to memory.

"Thank you," Dark whispered. "Thank you."

I hope you guys enjoyed that :)


	12. Chapter 12

_**Hello**__**, **__**my**____**friends**__**! **__**I**__**'**__**ve**____**been**____**in**____**an**____**A**____**Different**____**Dark**____**mood**____**lately**__**, **__**I**____**guess**__**! **__**Good**____**thing**__**, **__**too**__**!**_

_**ENJOY**__**!**_

_**The**____**Espeon**_

We weren't woken by Loudred's screams the next morning, like usual. Instead Wylie and Austin gently prodded us awake. Well, Heather, Jared, and me, anyway. We quietly tip-toed out, leaving Dark to sleep. Everyone knew he needed it.

"So, what's going on?" I asked, then yawn.

"Someone wanted to see Team Song, so we were sent to get you guys," Wylie explained.

"So we are to go to Wigglytuff's room, right?" Heather asked.

"You guessed it," Austin said. "They won't tell us who, though."

"You guys don't have to guide us, you know," Jared declared. "We know where to go."

"Yes," Wylie said as he started climbing the ladder. "But we've been told to wait outside his room, anyway, so we're going as well."

"Alright," Jared shrugged, then followed up after Wylie. I watched for a second before climbing myself, Carry and then Austin after.

We head into Wigglytuff's room, Wylie and Austin waiting outside.

_**The**____**Espeon**_

The figure standing next to Chatot and Wigglytuff has pink hair and a pale, blueish-white body. Heather and Jared gasped as they saw her.

"What? Who is she?" I demanded.

"Th-that's Mespirit," Jared got out. "Sh-she's a legendary pokemon."

"Okay..." I muttered. _Whatever__that__means__._

"Which one of you is Dark?" the pokemon asked.

"Uh, none of us," I told her. "Dark's still asleep."

"Why? Doesn't Loudred usually wake you up?" Then she face-palmed, realizing," Oh, that's right. He only learned of his mother's death yesterday. Or re-learned, I should say."

"What?" all three of us demanded.

"He didn't tell you?" Mespirit inquired. "Well, now you know. His mother died when he was five."

"Oh," we all mumbled.

"Too bad I have to give him a worse memory today, something he still hasn't gotten over," Mesprit continued. "I wonder if he still remembers his father's and sister's faces from yesterday's memory implant. Well, I guess he would because- Nevermind. Go get Dark for me, will you three?"

"Can it wait until tomorrow?" I ask her. "Dark's pretty beat up right now. Mentally, I mean."

Mesprit shrugged. "I have no idea."

"What do you mean, you have no idea?" Jared asked. "I mean, aren't you supposed to know everything?"

"Oh, no, no," Mesprit said. "That's my sister, Uxie, who you'll meet later. I mean what I say. I have no idea how long we can afford to wait. It's better that we just get him back his memories as soon as possible. Once he has all the major ones back, the rest will slowly find themselves in his brain. He'll remember how he got over everything then, and the sooner that happens the better." Suddenly Mesprit looked past us and said, "I believe we have a spy on our paws."

"Or two," Chatot muttered. "Guildmaster, I told you we shouldn't have let _those__two_keep watch. I knew they'd listen in."

"That's why I chose them," Wigglytuff declared. "Now come on in, Austin, Wylie."

Whispers could be heard a moment before the two entered.

"Ah, you two. I have heard of both of you," Mesprit said.

"You have?" both asked, surprised.

"Of course. When the time comes, you will show these three and Dark into the future to fix all this," Mesprit said, then slapped a hand over her mouth. "Oops! You weren't supposed to know that yet. Oh, well. What's done is done, Uxie always says to me. Now hurry and get Dark, will you?"

Wylie and Austin stood frozen, neither able to figure out exactly what the hell was going on.

"I'll do it," I said, and walked out. Once out of sight, I pinched myself. _Yep__, _I realized, _still__awake__._

And so I walked back to our room.

_**The**____**All**__**-**__**Knowing**____**Person**__** (**__**Third**____**Person**__**, **__**just**____**thought**____**I**__**'**__**d**____**make**____**it**____**sound**____**cooler**__**)**_

"Dark? Dark, wake up," a voice told him softly. _Such__a__gentle__voice__,_ he realized in his state of half-awakeness. _It__sounds__almost__like__Carry__, __but__it__'__s__probably__Heather__._

He didn't budge from his bed. Yesterday he had mastered the act of clearing his mind, of not thinking the painful thoughts that immediately came to him. That morning he didn't look forward to the sunshine or to the happy chatter of the other pokemon at the guild. He didn't want to leave the darkness of his nest. Plus, he was cold and he didn't want to be warm right then, just wanted to stay in this cold, swallowing darkness.

That's when Carry sighed and pushed him off the bed of hay and straw.

_**The**____**Umbreon**_

"Ow," I muttered as I hit the floor.

"Dark, what's wrong with you?" Carry asked me, sticking her face close to mine in order to see his face.

I immediately covered my face with my paws and said, "Leave me alone."

"Dark. Seriously. Look at yourself. You've been swallowed by depression," Carry said. "And Mesprit wants to see you. She says she's got a worse memory."

I forced myself to sit up at look at her. "What could be worse than re-living your mother's death?"

"Apparently she's got something for you. Now come on," Carry said, standing. "And Dark?"

"Yeah?" I asked, reluctantly getting up as well.

"I'm sorry," she said to me, and walked out.

I followed her and asked, "What for?"

"Because this sucks," she said. "Your name is 'Dark.' That has to mean something pretty bad has happened to you, doesn't it?"

"Yeah," I said quietly.

"And what hurts the most isn't that she's dead. It's that you had hope and it was destroyed, brutally and relentlessly, and not even on purpose," Carry told me.

"Exactly. Exactly my feelings. How did you know?" I wondered.

"Because I had hope, too," she whispered just as we entered Wigglytuff's room.

I look up and meet eyes with Mesprit. That's when I hear the song again, and that's when I faint.

(Below is Dark's memory. Usually it would be in italics, but fanfiction likes to group erase the spaces between the italic words, _like_ this, but I hope you enjoy the part anyway!)

My father and I huddle in the corner with my sister, Them coming closer. There's three of Them, and they wanted us. Why? I had no idea.

"No!" I screech as they snatch my screaming sister from my young arms and head over to take her into the van. I scream again as they start coming back.

"No! Please!" my father cries. "Take me instead, not them!"

"You know you ain't valuable," one of Them snickers. He pulls a gun from his pocket. I feel my eyes widen. They were going to kill me.

But I was wrong. He shot my father in the forehead, him crying to save my sister and I. I touched my forehead and realized his blood had splattered onto me. I screamed again.

A big guy came up to me, stared down into my trembling face. "The name's Craig. Remember it, kid. One day I'll kill you, but not today. They told me that it ain't time yet, that if you die now yet another will be Celebi's chosen."

He walked to the van and then entered it. After a few moments the van started speeding away. I got up and I ran the opposite direction, knowing I was unable to follow a car. I ran far, far away, as far as I could go...

Hope you enjoyed!

R and R, please? I appreciate it more than you know!


	13. Chapter 13

Poor Dark and friends. Torture them so we must. Says Yoda so.

ENJOY!

Chapter 13

_**The**____**Umbreon**_

I woke up with a start and forced myself to sit up. I was still in Wigglytuff's room and everyone- Austin, Wylie, Heather, Carry, Jared, Chatot, Mesprit, and Wiggytuff- was still there.

"Why are you all doing this to me?" I managed to get out of my mouth.

Mesprit shook her head sadly. "Because you need your memories, and the world needs you."

"What can an umbreon do that you can't?" I demanded, my voice tired.

"We can't go into the future," Mesprit said sadly. "If any of us legends leave, the impact of our presence will disappear and the world will encounter many problems."

"The key of impact," I breathed suddenly. "That's what the map is called."

Mesprit smiled. "That is correct, Dark."

"So what are we supposed to do next?" Carrie asked abruptly.

"You two must find Uxie," Mesprit instructed. "She will give you the next memory."

"And after that? After I've gotten all the memories? What am I supposed to do then?" I demanded.

Mesprit breathed in deeply, almost as if she were sighing. "I do not know," she admitted. "That is why I am sending you to the other legends. They may not know, but you will once you recollect your existence before this."

"What about those skuntanks?" Heather asked.

"Those are your enemies. Avoid them at all costs," Mesprit told us. "Now go. The four of you. Austin, Wylie, stay after they do, I must have a word with you two."

For a moment everyone was still. Then life started again and Carrie walked out, Heather and Jared following, as Wylie and Austin met hidden glances. With one last glance at the legendary, I followed my friends.

_**The**____**Lucario**_

"What do you need from us, may I ask?" Wylie asked once the four were gone.

"You two know what I was talking about," Mesprit insisted. "The portal."

"Only Celebi can travel through time," Wylie said, giving her a sideways glance. I knew he was testing her.

Mesprit laughed. "Which is how I know you're the forest guardians."

"Um, what?" I asked her, faking confusion.

Mesprit looked to Wigglytuff, who nodded, then smiled. She looked at us and recited the lyric.

"_In__anni__subcinctus__tempus_

_In__anni__subcinctus__spatium_

_In__anni__es__solus__vestigium_

_De__spiritu__scriptor__viridi_

_De__spiritu__gratia_

_O__spiritus__restat__vestigium_

_Clavem__ad__praeteritum_

_Clavem__ad__futurum_

_Clavem__ad__praesens_

_In__anni__align__suo__modo_

_Et__mundus__rotat__alium__diem_

_Emittitur__egerunt__plures__tutores_

_Qui__volunt__Custodibus_

_In__solum__vestigium__."**_

_**__For__those__of__us__who__don__'__t__speak__Latin__or__have__Google__Translate__handy__, __look__down__._

"_The__gears__shift__time_

_The__gears__shift__space_

_The__gears__are__the__only__trace_

_Of__the__spirit__'__s__green_

_Of__the__spirit__'__s__grace_

_Oh__, __the__spirit__has__left__but__one__trace_

_The__key__to__the__past_

_The__key__to__the__future_

_The__key__to__the__present_

_The__gears__align__in__their__own__way_

_And__the__world__spins__another__day_

_Emitted__did__they__several__guardians_

_Who__choose__the__Keepers_

_Of__the__only__trace__."_

Wylie and I met nervous glances, not sure if we should admit our existence. We had never heard another say the lyric, and weren't sure what to do, even if she was a legend. Also, Wigglytuff and Chatot were there. Chatot, who'd been mysteriously silent this whole time.

Wylie must have noticed it, too, because he tapped morse code onto his palm. "Chatot's been silent."

"Spy?" I tapped into my own palm. I always loved an excuse to use Morse code.

"Check his emotions," Wylie suggested onto his palm.

I did. I stared at Chatot, not disguising my watching his aura. I tapped, "Nothing abnormal."

"Mesprit, they don't understand it," Chatot decided.

"Oh, they do," Mesprit assured him. "They've been taught not to trust anyone with the information they have, especially because there's so many who want it for evil."

"Which, as far as we know, you three could easily be," Wylie reminded everyone quietly.

"You don't trust us?" Chatot demanded.

"Chatot, be patient," Wigglytuff said to him.

"'Trust' isn't something that comes easily to you, now is it?" Mesprit asked.

"No," Wylie said.

For a few moments we five stood in silence, thinking.

The silence was abruptly broken when Wylie gasped, putting two fingers above his ear. He shakily reached a hand towards me. "Austin, take my hand," he managed to instruct me.

"Wylie, what's-" I started, but the world flashed white upon my touching his hand. The blinding white quickly faded into a meadow.

"Hello, boys," a familiar voice said.

We whipped around, then saw Celebi. Neither of us relaxed.

Celebi smiled and said, "The red rose is always green to you."

Wylie and me relaxed upon hearing our code. "Can we trust the three of them?" I asked.

Celebi nodded. "Yes, you can." Celebi gasped. "I must go now. Something troubling is afoot. Good luck, protect the four of them."

With that the dream ended.

I shook my head hard, trying to clear it. Wylie closed his eyes, going through everything in his head in order to calm the confusion.

"GUILDMASTER!" someone yelled randomly.

"I must go for now," Mesprit said, then teleported.

"Blazer, come in!" Wigglytuff called.

A charmeleon came in, looking terrified. "The tent up top! It's on fire!"

"In the middle of a rainstorm?" I demanded.

Blazer nodded furiously. "How is that even possible?" he asked no one in particular, staring bewilderedly at the ground.

"Let's go, Wylie," I said. He nodded. "We'll find out!" I called back to Blazer as we rushed past him.

The moment I sensed the fire, I knew it wasn't really a meaningless body of heat. This thing was _alive__._

I stopped, fear gripping me. Was it time already? But it couldn't be! Dark hadn't recovered all his memories!

_**The**____**Vaporeon**_

_**Several**____**Minutes**____**Ago**_

The four of us numbly walked back into the room, all four of our worlds separately blown to pieces. We each settled into our beds, wishing for nothing more than to fall into sleep's blank clutches.

I looked down at my cleanse tag, remembering when I'd first gotten here. This was my third. The first was given to me when I was ten, the second by Austin, and the third by Wigglytuff. I kept Austin's around my neck and Wigglytuff's in the bag.

As I stared down at it, I noticed it subtly changing from the light gray to a light blue.

"What the...?" I wondered. I quietly got up, not wanting to disturb everyone else. I swiftly padded down the hallway and then upstairs, looking for Austin.

"Heather!" I heard him yell for me just as I appeared on the second floor.

"Austin! Something's up with my cleanse tag," I told him.

The lucario rushed over to me, Wylie close behind. Austin glanced at it and said, "It's protecting you from something bad. Keep it on. Where's the rest of Team Sound?" He seemed rushed.

"Back in the room," I told him.

Austin looked to Wylie and said, "I'll check out the fire, you get Team Sound out of here. All right?"

"Okay. Heather, come with me," Wylie instructed.

"But-" I began, though he cut me off.

"I'll explain once we're out of here," Wylie said. He jumped down the hole and landed in a crouch, quickly springing up. It didn't look like it had hurt him, but I didn't try it. Instead I climbed as quickly as possible down the ladder.

Once my paws reached the ground, Wylie broke off in a run, me close behind.

Wylie didn't knock, just threw open the door. "Guys-"

The three others all were all tied on the floor, Skun sitting over them. Carrie was struggling, Dark had his eyes closed (Defeat? Unlikely. Hope, maybe, or a forming plan.), and Jared was simply terrified. Skun smirked. "Well, hello there."

I screamed at the top of my lungs.

CLIFFHANGER!

Hope you enjoyed!

Today must be a good day for cliffhangers. Not only is THIS ending in one, but so is my other story as well. (Nexus, if anyone is curious.)


	14. Chapter 14

_**Hello**__**, **__**people**__**! **__**I**____**hope**____**you**____**all**____**ENJOY**__**!**_

_**Chapter**____**Fourteen**_

_**The**____**Vaporeon**_

"Let them go!" Wylie demanded.

Skun, sitting there with all my friends tied beneath him, just smirked. "What if I say 'no?'"

"You don't know who you're dealing with here," Wylie warned. "I advise you to let them go."

"No," Skun said in an annoying voice that resembled a little kid's.

"What do you want them for?" I demanded, my voice as steady and calm as I could make it.

"The umbreon needs to die, and we figured it we could have a party and kill the rest of the little rescue team you've got here," Skun said, smirking.

"Why? How does killing someone solve _anything__?" _Wylie demanded.

Skun chuckled. "It solves everything. You know, if you were on our side-"

"No! I won't kill, won't do it for me, for you, for anyone!" Wylie shouted.

Skun's smirk grew wider. He sensed a weak point. "You-"

"Let us go!" Carrie suddenly shouted. Which was weird because her mouth was tied shut.

"How're you talkin'?" Skun wondered, looking down at her.

"I'm using telepathy, you dolt! I'm an espeon!" her mind shouted for her. "And, oh, I forgot! I can do this, too!"

Suddenly purple lines of psychic power illuminated Skun, who was lifted off the ground and thrown headfirst into the wall to our right and Carrie's left.

"Ha! That's what you get, you asshole!" Carrie looked delighted, and her voice rang with it. Her eyes moved to me. "Hey, uh, Heather? I can't really do anything else except throw things and I didn't really know that I could even do that until now so, uh, help? Please?"

I smiled and started walking over, but Wylie held out a hand. He was staring at Skun. He narrowed his eyes at the purple beast and then suddenly he jumped at us.

Wylie threw me backwards and quickly conjured an ice punch. It made contact with Skun's face with a harsh crack. As he flew back, Carrie psychically increased his speed so he slammed into the wall hard enough to crack it.

Skun was down for the count.

_**The**____**Lucario**_

I rushed upstairs and outside. I bursted out of the tent and into the cold night, instantly getting soaked by the pounding rain.

I faced the tent, watching red and black flames dance atop the pink tent. What scared me most was its living aura.

"Oh, Austin," a familiar and deadly voice called. I whipped around.

"Craig," I said, narrowing my eyes and feeling my voice take on an undertone of anger.

The skuntank waltzed over slowly, leisurely. "What? No greeting?"

"Not for you," I said. "You know you have no business here."

"Well, neither do you," Craig insisted, then suddenly jumped at me.

I jumped to the side, narrowly dodging his attack. I felt aura surge into my paw and I forced it into the skunk's belly as he launched at me again.

The impact of my hit threw him to the ground, but I knew he wasn't finished with me yet. He got up and pointed to the flame.

"You know the little aura tricks you've got? With the wave of aura and everything?" he asked me. I didn't acknowledge him at all, but still he continued. "I'm sure you're aware you have that because you're Celebi's chosen. Well, I am Darkrai's chosen, which makes us opposites and makes this-" he held up his three deadly claws. They lit with the same red-black fire that was torturing Wigglytuff's tent. I gasped as he finished, saying, "Even more deadly."

"You're abusing your power," I told him.

"Not if this is what my master told me to do," Craig said, smirking. "He said, 'Kill Celebi's chosen.' Dark is one of them. You are the other. I do believe Celebi told you something similar."

"I won't kill. I've got some morals, unlike someone else," I alerted Craig.

"Oh, and your friend? Wylie? Skun may not be chosen, but he's perfectly capable of killing that little weasel," Craig reminded me.

"You're an asshole," I decided. "Wylie would never lose to someone as low as him. Or, for that matter, you."

For a moment we stood in the tense silence. Then Craig suddenly rushed forward and tried to scratch me, deadly claws lit aflame.

I nimbly dodged every attack and pulled a bone rush attack to help myself fend him off. He aimed for my head and I spun the blue bone diagonally clockwise, blocking his claws and hitting his chest. His breath raced out of him and he fell down. He popped back up instantly and tried to claw my head. I kicked out and hit his chest. Craig threw his claws down and dragged them down my side as he was kicked away.

I yelped in pain, clutching my side. There was no blood, only the red-black light that signified death.

Just as quickly as he'd been thrown down, he stood up and came rushing back at me. Not able to do much else, I threw the arm not clutching my side down, sending an auric wave with it. It hit Craig just before he hit me, throwing him far back. Since this was the opposite energy hitting him here, it did a whole lot of damage. Craig was out.

"F**k," I swore. I fell to my knees in pain. The fiery substance was eating away at my aura. It would slowly consume me for six hours until I died unless another one of Celebi's chosen healed me.

"Austin!" Wylie gasped. "Are you okay?" He and Team Song were rushing towards me.

"Craig is Darkrai's chosen," I told Wylie calmly. I already knew how he'd react, and I wondered if I should have told him. He knew what it would mean.

"No, f**cking no!" Wylie gasped. "Austin, move your arm."

"Wylie, I-" I began.

"Austin," Wylie pleaded. I knew tears were starting to form in his eyes. It wasn't just the rain.

I moved it, revealing to the five what Craig had done to me.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no," Wylie whispered, his eyes widening with each word. "There has to be some way I can heal you, there has to be!"

"Wylie," I said calmly, "You aren't one of Celebi's chosen. There isn't a way."

Ooh, DAN DAN DAAAAAN!

On to things that are more serious:

PLEASE READ:

This book and everything else I write to you all is dedicated to the victims of the shooting in Conneticut, Dawn Laffery Hochsprung, Mary Sherlach, Lauren Rousseau, Victoria Soto, Olivia Engel, Emilie Parker, Rachel Davino, Anne Marie Murphy, Charlotte Bacon, Daniel Barden, Josephine Gay, Ana Marquez-Greene, Dylan Hockey, Madeleine Hsu, Catherine Hubbard, Chase Kowalski, Jesse Lewis, James Mattioli, Grace McDonnel, Anne Marie Murphy, Jack Pinto, Noah Pozner, Caroline Previdi, Jessica Rekos, Avielle Richman, Benjamin Wheeler, Allison Wyatt and every other person shot and everyone (if anyone) who had to watch it happen. Notice how I don't just put the number, I put their names. I do it because numbers are cold and heartless and too commonly used to describe something so horrible. You don't really realize how terrible and horrific and I'll even say devilish things like this are if you say a number. You have to hear the names of the poor, poor people that won't ever get to feel the warmth of another hug or see the beauty of the morning and the sun and the moon and the days and the nights to truly understand what's happened here.


	15. Chapter 15

_**Yay**_**for****winter****break****! ****I****'****ll****try****to****get****some****more****up****here****, ****but****I****'****ll****be****studying****for****finals****and****stuff****. ****These****are****my****first****finals****btw****, ****so****wish****me****luck****! ****I****wish****all****of****you****high****school****/****college****children****out****there****luck****on****your****tests****as****well****! ****Especially****if****you****'****re****a****freshman****, ****too****.**

**Oh****, ****and****crud****, ****I****left****you****all****on****a****terrible****cliff****hanger****again****xD****I****apologize****.**

**Lastly****...**

**ENJOY****!**

_**Chapter**____**Fifteen**_

_**The**____**Umbreon**_

"Wait," I said, stepping forward. "Did you say Celebi's chosen?"

"Yeah," Austin said quietly and calmly as Wylie started to pace.

"Why us? Why us?" Wylie asked the sky as it poured its sorrow upon us. "We've already lost Laek, I can't lose you, too." Wylie looked to his friend, desperation and terrible, terrible cheerlessness and sadness and sorrow in his eyes.

"Because we had the experience and we were willing to risk everything," Austin reminded his friend.

"Still are, apparently," Wylie whispered.

"I'm one of Celebi's chosen," I bursted out. Wylie and Austin both switched their gazes to me. I continued, telling them, "I met Craeg once before. He told me that he wasn't going to kill me, otherwise someone else would become Celebi's chosen."

"You can heal him, then," Wylie said, his eyes brightening just a little.

I frowned. "I can? How?"

"This is going to sound bad," Wylie warned, "but you'll have to cut him where the red marks are and turn them into something treatable."

"You want me to hurt him?" I asked, very confused.

"Dark," Austin said quietly, clutching the wound in obvious pain. He moved his arms to show me and said, "If you cut me here, then the effects of your Celebi's chosen impact will neutral out the effect of Craeg's Darkrai's chosen effects because they're opposites, like one and negative one."

Heather's eyebrows knitted together and she frowned. "Wouldn't Darkrai's opposite be Cresselia?"

"Long story short, no," Wylie said.

"What happens after?" Jared wondered. "I mean, after the effects go away?"

"The cut becomes a normal cut and we get him treated," Wylie said.

"Not here, though," Austin quietly put in.

Wylie nodded. "It's not safe here anymore, not for any of us six."

"What?" Carrie asked, stepping towards them. "We have to leave?"

Wylie looked regretful, his eyes wide with sadness. He looked so much like he wanted to say we could stay, but he softly shook his head no. "Yes. We have to leave. They found us here."

"So we're just going to let them run us out?" Carrie demanded, outraged through her crestfallenness.

"We have no choice," Wylie told her dispiritedly. "We can't risk any of us getting hurt."

Carrie's shoulders sunk and she lowered her head in defeat. "Oh," she whispered.

"I'm so sorry," Wylie told her quietly, despairingly.

"You shouldn't be sorry," Heather said, with Carie slowly nodding her agreement. "It's hard enough for you to have to tell us in the first place. It's what's best, anyway."

Suddenly Austin gasped in pain.

"What's wrong?" Wylie demanded.

"I guess... the full effect was... delayed," Austin managed to say through gasping breaths.

"Hurry, Dark," Wylie pleaded.

"Do I have to do anything special?" I wondered, a little panic slipping into my voice.

"No, just cut him with your claws, the Darkrai's Chosen factor should activate your power," Wylie explained.

"Okay..." I said, then quickly padded over to Austin. He very painfully moved his arm away from the wound.

It was like nothing I'd ever seen before. I thought it was just red from the blood or something, but up close I could see it was light emanating from three long slices of his body from below his underarm to just above his hip. The light was a terribly dark mix of red and black and a tiny bit of angry white.

I clicked out my claws, though I was not quite believing what I was about to do. I arranged them on his side to match the three claw marks from Craig, and slowly dragged them down Austin's body. The scary red light faded into a scary red cut as I worked. Austin shook from the enormous amount of pain and tension, not making a sound and squeezing his eyes shut.

When I was finally done and all the red light had disappeared, Austin gasped with relief.

He kind of fell from sitting on his knees onto the ground, then slowly rearranged himself into a cross-legged position. Wylie raced over and helped him. Austin put his elbows on his knees and balanced his head on his palms. "Thank you," he whispered.

For a long time we were silent. Then Jared asked in a tiny voice, "Where do we go?"

Wylie looked down and Austin managed to meet his gaze by rolling his head a little. Austin gave the slightest nod. Wylie said after a quick glance at the fainted Craeg, "I know a place that isn't too far from here and they shouldn't know about it. Austin, shall we?"

Wylie held out a hand and slowly pulled a shaky Austin to his feet. Blood was starting to slowly drip down, the heavy rain smearing it to stain his fur.

"What should we do about him?" I asked, jerking my head towards the fainted Craeg.

Wylie walked onto the grate and called, "Digglet! Have someone come up here! Darkrai's chosen needs to be arrested!"

We waited a few seconds, then came his reply: "The guildmaster and Chatot are coming up!"

Just as his sentence ended, the two came rushing out of the tent. Upon seeing the still-burning fire, Wigglytuff gasped.

I heard a slight buzz as Austin made an auric wave. It traveled through the air slowly in a way that you could tell Austin was on his last strength. It snuffed the fire out, leaving no burns on the pink tent.

"I'm guessing this is goodbye for awhile," the matching pink pokemon said quietly, sadly.

"That would be correct," Wylie said, nodding his head slowly.

Wigglytuff smiled with a bittersweet curve of his lips and said, "My friends, it has been a pleasure working with you, and I hope we all meet again someday. I wish you all the luck I can give."

We all nodded our thank-yous, and Wylie led us away with his head up but not quite happy at all.

It occurred to me, as we slowly made our way down the path, how strong Wylie was. Carrie, Jared, Heather, and I had been shocked and mentally beaten into quiet words, but Wylie kept his head up as best he could and answered all our questions, told us where to go, and did not forget that Craeg might be awake yet.

I wondered how badly Wylie was hurting inside, if he'd be awake all night with churning thoughts.

Poor Wylie. His life is so screwed up. Anyway, if any of you are interested there is a poll for Nexus going up. There'll be a similar one (asking for the fan favorite character) soon! :D Hope you enjoed!


	16. Chapter 16

Merry Christmas to you all!

Or if you're a Jew like me Happy late Hanukkah!

Or Happy Kwanzaa!

Or if you're none of the above Happy Holidays!

Or Happy There's Almost Enough Snow to Cover the Ground! (Here in IL)

Or Happy Winter!

Or Happy December!

Or Happy Something!

Anyway, as a very late Hanukkah (DARNIT GOOGLE DOCS IT'S MY HOLIDAY I'LL SPELL IT THE WAY I WANT) gift/ Christmas gift (If that's so then you have to wait until tomorrow to open it!) or as a Kwanzaa gift (early or late? Someone please tell me, I have no idea) or whatever, here's the next chapter!

P.S., It seems I have been misspelling Carry as Carrie and Team Sound as Team Song and Craeg as Craig...Please ignore that xD Sorry

This chapter has a strong amount of drama in it and we learn a whole lot about Wylie and Austin.

Don't miss this, there's some pretty important stuff in here about the characters!

ENJOY!

Chapter Sixteen

_**The**____**Umbreon**_

I immediately recognized the place once we arrived on the cliff. "Sharpedo bluff?" I wondered.

"Yes," Wylie said.

Austin, tired out, sat down as Wylie searched the ground for something. Austin placed a hand on the ground (Maybe it helped him to sense things when he was so tired?) and said, "Left." Wylie moved a little and then, smiling a little as he found something, pushed the mud around until a gray plate could be seen. He moved the piece of stone, revealing a ladder.

"Down there?" Carry asked doubtfully.

Wylie confirmed, "Down there." He went first, quickly lowering himself down into the earth. A few moments later the click of a lightswitch was heard and light could be seen emanating from the hole. "Come on," Wylie called.

Austin managed to stand up and walk over. He slowly climbed down the ladder.

I followed next, the rest of my team soon after.

The room we entered was wide and cozy with wooden floors and walls, like a cabin. There was a fireplace in the corner, too, which I liked. There were a few doors, one which Wylie appeared from with bandages and a medical kit.

"Welcome," Wylie said, smiling, "to our old home." He pointed out a room for us and told us which one was his and Austin's. "I'm going to go fix up Austin, but you guys can head to bed if you'd like."

We four gladly did so.

_**The**____**Buizel**_

I walked into Austin's room, my arms full of medical supplies. "Hey," I said to Austin as I entered, closing the door behind me with my foot.

"Hey," he answered, his voice very weak, as I walked over. He was shivering on his straw bed. Pain? Tension? Cold? Probably a mix of them all.

I sat on my knees beside him, setting everything down in an orderly fashion. I examined the wound.

It was red and swollen and very wide. Blood leaked out, and he was very pale, a sign of the effect losing this much blood had on his body. Austin sounded weak, and looked it as well.

"I'm going to have to give you stiches," I told my friend. "So I'm going to knock you out."

"No, it's alright-" he began.

I cut him off. "Austin, you've taken a lot of pain today. You don't need anymore," I reminded him, my voice calm and gentle. Before he could protest, I placed a hand over his eyes and used sleep powder, a strange move for a buizel.

I opened the kit and took out what I needed to stitch my friend together again. "All the king's blitzle and all the king's friends could definitely put eggsecutor back together again," I whispered. _Physically__, __anyway__, _I thought. As I worked, I doubly reinforced each stitch. Austin had a tendency to rip them out accidentally. After I sewed him up, I cleaned and then bandaged the wound.

When I was finished, I stood up and stretched a moment, then gathered my supplies and walked back into the kitchen to put them away. I then went back into the room and removed the bloody straw and then once more returned there with a blanket as he was still shivering. I gently laid it on him and walked out.

I checked on Team Sound. Heather was curled into a ball, her breath gracefully gentle. Carry, on the other paw, was lying on her back with her legs wrapped around her. Her quiet snoring told me of her sleep. Jared was on his stomach, his arms on his pillow. Dark, in the far corner of the room, was curled like Heather and had his face turned to the wall, but his breaths were fast. Was the cause a nightmare, or still being awake?

"Dark?" I called softly from the doorway.

Dark jumped, scrambling to face me. "Oh, it's you," the umbreon realized, calming down.

"Sorry to scare you. Are you alright?" I wondered. I already knew the answer, but curious as to if he'd admit it.

He sighed and said, "No, not really. Over the course of the last month I've been unconscious for three weeks, I found out my mother is dead and my sister and father were kidnapped, my friend has almost died, and the weight of the world is sitting on my shoulders."

"That would do it," I said. "Can I come in?"

"Better I come out," Dark said, standing and walking over. "Don't want to wake everyone. Especially the Carry monster."

I smiled at his joke. I held the door for him, and he nodded his thanks as he walked out of the room. I closed the door and suggested we sit outside. Dark agreed, and we climbed back up to the surface.

Sitting out there on sharpedo bluff was great. The stars were bright holes in the blissfully dark blanket that was surrounding our world, the moon its beautiful design.

"You know, Dark, we're here to help you," I told him as he stared up.

"I don't want to risk any of you getting hurt," Dark said. "Anyone else, I mean."

"Well, that kind of stinks," I told him honestly, " because Austin is already in too deep as he's the other Celebi's chosen. I'm actually a Uxie's chosen, so I'm stuck. Carry was sent here to be your guardian. Heather and Jared... they're your true friends. They wouldn't abandon you no matter what the crisis."

"I don't need a guardian, they don't appear to have you on their wanted's list, and I'm sure I can slip away from Heather and Jared," Dark countered.

I laughed. "Oh, Dark, yes you do. Everyone needs a guardian."

"What about you? You held so strong today. Barely shedded a tear through the whole thing," Dark argued. "And when Skun scratched you up, you lost a ton of blood, but you still lived through it."

"Dark, I've had years of practice," I told him. "Like yours my life has been one catastrophic event after another."

"You know my life story, so what's yours?" Dark asked me.

I took a deep breath. "You really want to hear it?"

"Yeah," Dark said.

"Well... I was always as good at fighting as my brother was, even though he's five years older. He hated that like nothing else, except how he hated me. In fact, he told me once that 'hate' wasn't a strong enough word," I began. "I didn't like him too terribly much either, though. He always beat on me and Austin and our friend Laek."

"How long have you known Austin?" Dark wondered.

"Since I was born, you could say," I told him. "Our mothers were best friends and because they were in labor at the same time they managed to get into the same hospital room."

"You share a birthday?" Dark asked.

"Yes. We've been as close as you'd think brothers would be," I confirmed, then continued. "My brother truly showed me his hatred when I was ten. He killed my mother."

"What?" Dark demanded. "He killed his own mother?"

"She loved us equally, and he couldn't stand that. He needed to be constantly better than me at everything," I explained. "When my dad found out he killed him, too. Both of them right in front of me. I remember him telling me it was a warning.

"The next day, when I hid behind Austin and Laek when my brother came over, Austin stood up to him and he fought him. I don't know if you've ever noticed a slight scar over his right eye, but that was the deepest cut he got. Thank goodness he was such a greater fighter, even back then."

"At this point in time, my mother was far before not friends with theirs anymore. Austin's parents abused him, and Laek's ignored him. We decided it was time to go. We ended up here, actually. This is where we lived until we became a rescue team."

"What happened to Laek?" Dark asked me.

"He was kidnapped," I told him, staring up at the pure-white moon. "And that brings us to a close."

"I'm sorry," Dark said quietly.

"You shouldn't be. You've done nothing wrong, and at least I don't have to relive every single memory, good and especially bad," I told him.

We were silent for awhile before Dark asked, "Do you ever wish you were someone else?"

"No, I wouldn't wish this destiny upon anyone else," I told him honestly. "But I wish you and Austin and everyone else involved in this mess was someone else. Someone who consciously and readily chose this path and truly knew what it would mean. Not that Austin and I didn't know what we were getting into. It just wasn't really much of a choice."

Dark didn't respond. I didn't blame him.

Pretty strong crud, huh? Especially since it's the holiday season.

OH, MY GAWD!

I just had a splendid idea.

What if Dark and friends met Austin and friends for a holiday thing?

That would be interesting...


	17. Chapter 17

_**Hey**__**, **__**guys**__**! **__**If**____**something**____**doesn**__**'**__**t**____**make**____**sense**____**to**____**you**__**, **__**PLEASE**____**let**____**me**____**know**____**somehow**__**. **_

_**The**____**reason**____**it**____**has**____**taken**____**me**____**so**____**long**____**to**____**update**____**is**____**because**____**I**____**am**____**fixing**____**the**____**previous**____**chapters**____**to**____**be**____**more**____**understandable**__**. (**__**Thanks**____**very**____**much**__**, **__**for**____**this**__**, **__**SnivyPro**__**18!)**_

_**P**__**.**__**S**__**. **__**I**____**hate**____**this**____**chapter**__**. **__**Especially**____**the**____**second**____**part**__**.**_

_**Chapter**__** 17**_

_**The**____**Lucario**_

(Dream begins)

I ran through the forest. The greenery was dark and twisted, the trees forming a creepy canopy above me and the mosses hiding tree roots that peaked out of the ground in loops. Every few steps I tripped, falling down onto the ground. All through the black of the starless and moonless night I heard Dark's screams, present everywhere as if he were in the shadows himself.

"Help!" he yelled. "Help me!"

I heard the sickening sound of claws slicing flesh, of an endlessly burning red-and-black fire of a Darkrai's chosen engraving deep marks on a poor soul.

"Austin!" I heard Wylie suddenly yell, his voice breaking through to me. "Austin, help!"

"Where are you guys?" I demanded, searching wildly around. "How can I help you?"

They gave no answer, just shouted "Help me!" over and over as my ears began to ring and my heart began to break. Soon Heather joined in, then Carry and lastly Jared. Their screams formed a chorus of voices, crashing chords on a bloody piano.

"How can I help you?" I screamed to them. "How-"

(Dream ends)

"F**k!" I yelped as I sprang into a sitting position. My hand went to my heart as I heaved oxygen into my body, attempting to calm myself.

"Are you okay?" Wylie asked, instantly at my side.

"Nightmare," I explained, putting my head in my paws. "Nightmare."

Wylie put a comforting paw on my shoulder. He didn't ask about the nightmare, thankfully. I guessed he didn't want me to have to relive it in memories. He also knew that giving me support was all he could truly do to help me in the fight against my own fears.

Why must fear always seem stronger than hope?

_**Third**____**Person**_

He had to find that espeon. Had. To. She had the map now, he figured, as the damn kid had nothing of value except the feeble piece of paper and had to give her something in reward for rescuing him.

The feeble piece of paper that could tell him where his memories were and get him back.

The human world was much more exciting to steal from, he thought, than the pokemon one.

Where was she?

"Drowsee," he heard a voice call his name. It was enchanting, seductive.

He turned around and around, looking for the body belonging to the voice. "Who are you?" he asked, determined to find the owner of the lovely voice.

"I am Azelf, the being of willpower," the voice said. As it spoke, a pale blue pokemon with darker blue hair appeared in front of him. She was long and beautiful.

"What might a wonderful woman like yourself want from me?" Drowsee wondered, his hopes getting higher.

"Much," she told him, coming closer. She gently touched his chin, then stole her paw back and began floating in circles around him, occasionally brushing her two tails against him. "I chose you, you know," she told him, her voice quiet and... sexy.

"For what?" Drowsee asked. His hopes got higher still.

"For my gift of power. The old Azelf's chosen is dead, so you are my new one," Azelf told him, continuing her floating. "If you agree to it, you get extreme power... and more from me."

"I agree," he said quickly. "I agree."

"Good. Tomorrow morning you will find that espeon of yours, and with your new power, you will take her out," Azelf instructed. "But for tonight... you are with me. Come. This way." With that she walked deeper into the cave, Drowsee following quickly after.

I must primarily say: EW to several levels.

And so the plot thickens and Drowsee becomes relevant... Yay for relevance!

I really don't like this chapter. First of all we're tormenting Austin. Secondly Drowsee comes back. I mean, GO AWAY FOR GOODNESS SAKES. NOBODY LIKES YOU.

Anyway.

P.S. Not that any of you really care, but I'd just like to share that I hate it when I stop writing at the end of a chapter. Then I have to start a whole new chapter and it takes me a good while and a half to figure out what the next chapter should be and how exactly I should be starting it.

Ya.

That's my rant for the day. Hope you enjoyed xD


	18. Chapter 18

_**Hello**__**, **__**my**____**friends**__**! **__**I**____**hope**____**you**____**all**____**enjoy**__**!**_

_**Chapter**____**Eighteen**_

_**The**____**Umbreon**_

The next morning, Wylie woke us up around noon with a gentle tap.

"What are we doing today?" Jared wondered as he, Heather, Carry, me, and Wylie gathered in the main room.

"Well, I'm going to wake Austin and we're going to go and see Uxie," Wylie explained. "I just wanted to tell you all to be very careful. We have to get you your memories back in a specific pattern, else the memory bridges do not form correctly. This pattern isn't usually predictable because only the legends and a select few of the Chosens know the pattern, but not all the legends who know have stayed on our side."

"Just tell us what you're trying to say here," Carry instructed, sighing.

"Azelf knows we need to see Uxie now, so she is probably going to come to Uxie's cave and try to kill us all," Wylie stated plainly. "And, no, Uxie cannot come to us. She's trapped, the reason we're going there."

"By what?" Heather wondered. "What could trap a legend?"

"Another legend," Wylie told her. "Dialga has trapped her in what I'm going to call a time capsule."

"Gosh! Are _any_ of the legends on our side?" Carry exclaimed.

"Yes. That would be most of the rest of the legends," Wylie said. I was impressed by his patience with us, Carry especially. Sometimes I wanted to stick a nail through her skull to see how thick it was.

"Hey, guys." Austin came out of his room, looking bright and happy. The stitches on his side were ugly gray threads that criss-crossed his bright blue fur, dulling them.

"How are you feeling?" Wylie wondered.

"Ready to kick some Chosen ass," Austin replied, smirking.

Wylie smiled. "To Crystal Crossing we go, then."

_**The**____**Oshawott**_

Once we reached the final pit, Wylie and Austin stopped us. Austin closed his eyes and scanned for auras. Wylie with his sharp eyes searched the cracks and crevices. Each of us had our ears open and tried looking around ourselves even though we really didn't know what we were looking for.

Austin pulled in a sharp breath as he sensed something. He snapped open his eyes and yelled, "Something's coming at us! Get back!" We all made a dash for the tunnel through which we'd entered, but suddenly a psychic block appeared.

"Damn!" Carry yelled. "It's always us, I swear!"

Wylie almost laughed. "Carry, it's always us for a reason."

"Who are you?" demanded a voice.

Wylie carefully stepped forward. He held his arms out in front of him, his palms facing up to show he meant no harm. "It's Wylie and my friends, Uxie."

A pale blue figure faded into view. She had what I thought looked like a yellow hat on her head. She gently touched her rubied tails to Wylie's paws and there was a small wave of red that pulsed through the air. Uxie.

The creature smiled. "Welcome."

"Thank you," Wylie said, and bowed. He stepped back to our group.

"Are we locked in?" Carry demanded, turning her head to give Uxie a sideways look that clearly signaled distrust.

"Not you, just me. I'll unlock my block," Uxie said, then waved her paw at the entrance. She frowned when the psychic shield didn't disappear.

"Shit!" Austin yelled suddenly. "Wylie! Follow my aura sphere!" Austin summoned a small blue ball of aura and threw it at the top right corner of the cave. Wylie immediately formed what looked like a very, very concentrated ball of glowing water and threw it at the same place.

The spheres hit something and exploded with a small burst of smoke and sound.

"Ah!" Dark yelped abruptly, falling over while clutching his head. Me and the rest of Team Song whipped around to face him, but he had already fainted. I figured the memory activated.

"My turn!" something feminine shouted.

"No!" Uxie yelled, and threw herself in front of us. She whipped her arms out, forming a barrier between her and us and whatever was attacking. She shook when an aura sphere hit the psychic shield, but neither her nor her barrier broke.

When the smoke cleared, a figure that looked like Uxie (except she had a blue hat instead of a yellow one) appeared in front of us. That would be Azelf.

"Uxie," the figure smirked. "Protecting your Chosen like you didn't mine?" The smirk turned angry.

"My Chosen knows his place," Uxie spat. "I'm protecting his friends. Your Chosen knew it, too. He gave his life for a great cause."

"He gave his life for a stupid cause! He-" Azelf began, her words being shot like arrows.

"You know this isn't a stupid cause!" Uxie yelled.

"It's too late! I've already joined Dialga and Palkia!" Azelf said.

"The power has already started going to their heads! Soon they'll fight each other for it and then kill you once they realize who shared it!" Uxie spat.

"This banter does not matter! Behold what I've really come to show you!" Azelf said, and snapped her fingers.

Everyone braced themselves, but nothing came.

Azelf snapped again before yelling angrily, "Drowsee!"

"Oh, no," Carry sighed. "Not this bastard again."

"The same one who kidnapped Azurill...?" I wondered.

Before Austin or Wylie could ask what we were talking about, the big yellow bath tub waddled out from an entrance behind Azelf.

"Buizel!" he shouted. "I've come to kill you!"

"Don't waste your breath," Austin muttered, beginning to step forward.

"No," Wylie decided. "He's more powerful than he looks, and you're still fairly injured."

"Wylie! Don't you get it? They're trying to get you to end up like I was! They very much _want_to kill you!" Austin insisted.

"I know," Wylie said, nodding. "Austin, let me do this."

Austin bowed his head in defeat. "Wylie, you know you can't die. We literally need you."

"And we need the rest of you as well," Wylie said. "You know only I can defeat him because of my power against him as his opposite Chosen, just how Craeg is yours."

Austin sighed, knowing arguing wasn't going to get him anywhere now. "Don't die."

_I__didn__'__t__know__Wylie__could__be__so__stubborn__, _I thought to myself as I watched Wylie walk forward.

"I'm ready," the buizel decided, puffing up his chest to make himself look bigger. "Fight me."

The big yellow tub came forward.

"Kill him!" Azelf commanded. "Use your new trick!"

"Okay!" Drowsee shouted. He gathered up a ball of energy between his fat fingers and tossed it over to Wylie, who easy sidestepped to avoid the attack. "What?" Drowsee demanded. He tried again and again but failed each time.

Wylie uttered two words: "Child's play." then sprung into action, first throwing several water pulses at his enemy. Drowsee snapped and the balls of water flew back to where Wylie was- excuse me, had been standing. By the time Drowsee realized Wylie wasn't where he'd aimed, the crafty buizel had managed to rush behind him.

"Ya!" Wylie shouted, then with a burst of blue he used aqua jet to pummel his enemy to the ground. Drowsee jumped back up and Wylie stepped forward so his fist connected with his enemy's face.

"The trick! The trick!" Azelf yelled. Just then Austin launched an aura sphere at the legend. The blue sphere hit her with a large thud and she smashed backwards into a wall.

Uxie followed up after Austin's attack with a psychic. Azelf screamed and wriggled in pain as Uxie's power strangled her. Azelf gave one especially large twitch, and I noticed something falling from her flash. I heard a slight thump as whatever it was landed.

Meanwhile, Drowsee started to gather the energy again, but Wylie was too smart for that. He socked the yellow pokemon and then ducked and kicked out, causing Drowsee to collapse. Wylie jumped out of the way just in time.

"What is that?" I heard Carry ask. Her gaze was pointed directly at the place where the thing had landed.

"I'll go find out," I offered, then scooted off before Austin or Heather, whose gazes were pinned to the fighting, could notice and tell me to stop.

I slid forward with my back to the rocks as quickly as I could, ducking when the occasional burst of power hit near me. One went a hair above my head and, on reflex, I yelped.

Azelf screamed through the psychic attack, "Oh, no! Drowsee, get the osh-"

"No, you don't!" Austin retorted quickly, and threw an aura sphere. The blue ball of energy collided painfully with Azelf, cutting her demand off.

After that I ran as fast as I could, my arms flailing behind me and eyes wide with fear. I stopped in my tracks when I saw the flash again. In front of me was a tiny glass sphere with a small pattern inside. The pattern glew. When I moved to pick it up the cave light gleamed off it and its glow brightened into a momentary flash.

"Run!" Austin, noticing it and probably realizing what the glass sphere was, suddenly yelled. "Run as fast as you can, Jared! Get out of here!"

_**CLIFFHANGER**__**! **__**NO**__**! **__**Hope**____**you**____**all**____**enjoyed**____**this**____**chapter**____**and**____**it**____**wasn**__**'**__**t**____**too**____**fast**__**.**_


	19. Chapter 19

Enjoy, guys!

Chapter 19

_**The**____**Espeon**_

Jared started running back to the entrance we had entered in, but Austin yelled to me, "Carry! Go with him! There's an exit to his right!"

"Got it!" I yelled, and ran as fast as my legs could carry me to where Jared was. I snatched him up in my jaws as I passed him and ran to the exit.

"NEEEEVEEEER!" Azelf screeched. She flung her arms out and psychic power erupted from her small body. It hit Uxie, knocking her to the ground. The power hit me next like a hammer, throwing me out of the cave. I managed to get to my feet and run away.

_**The**____**Lucario**_

The waves hit like a ton of bricks, smashing me against the wall. They hit again and again, and I heard Heather scream in pain.

"No!" I managed. I peeled myself off the wall and pulled an auric shield up. I slowly walked along the wall (the psychic waves slowed me a bit since they hit so much and had so much force) until I could pull Heather into the blue sphere with me. She gasped for a few moments before getting her breath back.

"Dark! We have to get him!" she insisted.

"That's right," I agreed, and traveled to the umbreon. Heather picked him up.

"Austin! Get them out of here!" Wylie yelled. I whipped my gaze to him. He was still fighting the drowsee, who was not affected by Azelf's psychic attack. I noticed Wylie was suddenly emanating a huge amount of power. I gasped and looked to Uxie, who was paler than usual.

"No," I whispered, knowing what this meant.

"Go! Hurry!" Wylie yelled.

I rushed towards the exit we'd come from. "Go!" I told Heather, and she left the bubble and went into the cave. I looked back once more at my poor friend, knowing it might be the last time I'd ever see him. Wylie gave me one last of his bright smiles, and I tried to give him my usual smirk.

It was tinted with sadness.

_**The**____**Espeon**_

I eventually put Jared down and we proceeded to run like Hell was on our tails. As far as we knew, it was.

When we finally made it out of the cave, I tried to use my badge. "F**k!" I exclaimed.

"What's wrong?" Jared asked.

"The badge isn't working," I muttered. Jared got his out and tried, but it wasn't working, either.

"Damnit!" I swore. "We'll be walking home, it seems."

"Carry!" a familiar voice gasped.

I looked up to see the green forest fairy herself. "Celebi!" I gasped.

She landed in front of us. Jared's eyes went wide and he dropped something in awe.

"What's with the marble?" I wondered, but Jared didn't hear me.

"You've got one of Dark's memories there," Celebi explained. "Tell me, child, what's your name?"

"Jared," he said, eyes still wide with awe. He bent and picked up the marble, which was apparently a memory.

"Not to be rude, but why are you here?" I wondered.

"I sensed a huge disturbance in the balance," Celebi explained. "Where are my Chosens?"

"Austin and Dark?" I wondered. "I have no idea."

"Here," Austin called. He sounded... defeated. He came out a moment later from an entrance to our right with his head down. Heather followed, the fainted Dark in her jaws.

"Quickly, Jared," Celebi said, "give Dark the memory."

Jared cautiously walked forward. When he was standing a good two feet away the memory began to glow. Dark began to struggle and Heather gently put him down.

"No wonder he didn't faint at first," I realized. "The memory has to be a certain distance away."

"Very good, Carry," Celebi said. "Though most legends hold the memory instead of dropping it. But that's something else." Then Celebi noticed something. "Where is the buizel?"

Austin flinched. "Uxie... is dead."

"Wylie has inherited her powers, then, is what you're saying," Celebi said. Her brighter tone faded into something a little darker and her head tilted down slightly.

"That's true. I fear Azelf will kill him because of it and end Uxie's existence and power," Austin said. He flinched again. "I should have stayed and helped him."

"Then you may both have gotten killed," Celebi reminded him. "It's better this way."

IS WYLIE GOING TO DIE? Find out next chapter! Hope you enjoyed!


	20. Chapter 20

**So****I****'****m****trying****a****bit****of****a****new****technique****in****editing****to****get****the****story****a****bit****more****full****of****emotion**** (****Not****the****right****word****, ****I****know****). ****Let****me****know****if****it****'****s****making****a****difference****por****favor****!**

**ENJOY****!**

_**ADD**____**Chapter**____**Twenty**_

_**The**____**Espeon**_

Austin bowed his head and whispered, "Maybe." Then he popped open his eyes. "Azelf's aura is gone. So's the Drowsee's. Wylie-" Austin's eyes opened wider and he ran back into the cave.

"Austin! Come back!" Heather shouted, looking worried.

"It's alright," Celebi assured us in a quiet voice, landing on the ground. "He knows what he's doing."

A few minutes later Austin returned, a fainted Wylie resting in his arms. "He's okay!" Austin exclaimed happily. "Now let's get the heck out of here!"

"I should like to retrieve Uxie and Azelfs' bodies," Celebi said, her quiet voice growing all the more silent.

"Azelf is dead?" Austin asked.

"I'd assume so if Uxie is," Celebi said, shaking her head sadly. "I just hope her Chosen is still alive. Unfortunately we will not find out until Wylie is awake. Anyway, now I will teleport you all back to the guild. I will watch over it until Wylie is healed and you can return to your home."

"Thank you," Austin said, and bobbed his head.

"Of course," Celebi said, and with a small flash of light they were in Chimecho's room.

_**The**____**Buizel**_

When I woke up I wasn't in terrible pain. That fact alone meant a few things. Those few things put me in enough mental pain to give me a headache.

"Ow," I whimpered without meaning to.

"Wylie!" Austin's relieved and hushed exclamation thankfully did not kill my ears. I sighed with relief when I opened my eyes to see him and Team Sound all right. The fact that it was nighttime and sunlight wasn't bombarding my eyes helped as well.

"Hi," I managed, then closed my eyes and let myself relax a little.

"Wylie, you're awake," Chimecho's soft voice drifted through my ears. "There's someone here I'd like you to meet."

I opened my eyes back up. Beside Chimecho was a glameow who looked about my age.

"Her name is Cindy. She's my apprentice," Chimecho explained.

"I thought Wylie was your apprentice," Austin said, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

"He was my part-time apprentice," she corrected. "But he's always been just as good at healing as I was and he's even better now that he has Uxie's powers."

"No," the word came out as a painful gasp. "Uxie is... dead?"

"Yes," Chimecho said, and bowed her head. Everyone in the room did.

"That's why I'm not dead," I choked out, one of my fears from before thudding in my brain with disbelief.

"What?" Austin demanded, instantly alarmed.

"The waves. Azelf was emanating the very waves that her Chosen would have," I explained, my voice cracked and dry. "Those would have killed me. But Uxie committed suicide."

"She did?" Heather gasped.

"Yes," I said. "Those waves wouldn't have hurt her too much, but she knew they'd kill me, so she absorbed them and let them kill her. The first one killed her so it wouldn't hurt me."

"And Azelf and Drowsee? What about them?" Carry wondered.

"Drowsee will die soon. I hit him with the waves." I had to force the words out of my mouth. "Azelf killed herself by forming the waves."

"Laek was Azelf's first Chosen," Austin blurted out. "Does that mean he's dead?"

"I guess so," I said sadly. "She told Uxie her Chosen died, after all."

"How many are we going to lose?" Austin whispered.

"I don't know," I admitted. The pain I felt started leaking out into my voice. "I am now the being of knowledge. I know everything Uxie did, but I don't know that."

"So it's true you're her Chosen," Cindy said.

"Yes, but please, don't share that information," I asked.

"Of course not," Cindy said. "I suppose I should tell you that I am Palkia's Chosen."

"Isn't Palkia evil?" Carry wondered, tilting her head to the side curiously.

"Yes, he is," Cindy said in her gentle voice. "But I am not. I promise."

"Words mean nothing," Carry muttered, looking away.

"I can sense lies," Austin told Carry assuredly. "She's not lying."

"Do we know who all the Chosens are?" Dark wondered abruptly.

"I do," I said. "Though I shouldn't share until it is necessary."

"Agreed," Austin said, nodding.

I tried to sit up, but was met with extreme pain. I lied back down.

Cindy came over and gently felt my chest until I gasped with pain again.

"There," I said, my breath coming hard and fast and making my voice sounded very choked and forced. Not that it wasn't before. "Ow."

"Your rib is definitely broken," Cindy told me, her voice soft with sympathy.

I didn't answer as there was a terrible stabbing feeling in my chest. I breathed as subtly as I could, but that just made it worse. I spoke up, knowing something was quite wrong. "My chest. Stabbing." My voice announced how much pain I was in.

Cindy gasped. "The rib must've punctured something when you sat up. Is it hard to breathe?"

"Yes," I gasped painfully. Each breath made the feeling worse and worse.

"The rib must have punctured a lung! We'll have to operate immediately," Chimecho said, her voice grave and commanding. "Everyone out!"

Suddenly the pain worsened ten fold and blackness washed over me.

**Crud****, ****Wylie****'****s****a****bit****screwed****, ****is****he****not****? ****I****'****m****sorry****the****updates****have****been****slow****lately****. ****I****'****ll****try****and****speed****them****up****. ****I****'****m****at****a****bit****of****a****rock****with****both****my****stories****, ****especially****the****other****one****. ****I****'****ve****been****concentrating****on****a****certain****decision****for****quite****awhile****with****it****.**

**Either****way****, ****hope****you****enjoyed****and****continue****to****do****so****!**


	21. Chapter 21

Goodmorning, people! Orafternoon, ornight, orwhatever...

ENJOY!

_**Chapter**__** 21**_

_**The**____**Buizel**_

I let out a big breath when I awoke. Thankfully the stabbing pain was gone, though I felt very numb in almost my entire body.

"You've got a lot of scars," I heard Cindy say.

I blinked open my eyes to the beautiful darkness of nighttime. Cindy was on a computer against the wall, her side facing me, tapping something in. I noticed how pretty she looked, her silver fur lit with moonlight. "I do."

"Who was it that carved a game onto your chest?" she asked. She stopped her quiet typing to look at me. Her eyes gleamed with a touch of anger.

"A skuntank," I answered. "It doesn't matter right this moment in time. Did you sew me up?"

"Yes," she said, and the anger in her eyes faded into relief. "Just in time, too." She turned back to the computer and continued typing.

"Thank you, Cindy," I told her.

"Please. Call me Ashy," she asked politely. She had a small smile, but I could tell she was masking something.

"I'm curious as to why," I told her.

Ashy stopped typing and stared at the computer with a grim look on her face for a moment before answering. "I'm named after my mother. She did some terrible things, killed some pokemon. I feel like I am destined to follow her in footsteps, and I can't stand the thought of that."

"I understand, Ashy," I told her.

"Thank you," she whispered, and closed her eyes and calmed a little in relief. "Chimecho says I should learn to accept my name, that your name is nothing but something to call you."

"You will accept it in time, but calling you Cindy against your will won't help or speed it. It may even delay it," I said.

"Yes," she said softly. She opened her eyes again and walked over. "I should check on your wound."

I watched as she removed the bandages that wrapped around my chest and upper back. Underneath was an ugly, jagged array of stitches.

"Sorry about the mess," Ashy whispered.

"What's another scar on the barren, broken land that is my body?" I asked. I shut my mouth. I had never complained about my scars before. Where on earth did my self-control go?

"I think they're beautiful," Ashy said as she bandaged me back up. "They tell your life story. They show all your battle marks. You're so brave."

"Thank you," I told her. "But I'm not really brave. I do what needs to happen, that's it."

"You almost got yourself killed a hundred times over, it looks like," Ashy said, nodding at my chest full of scars. "I would have let myself die already if I wouldn't have to suffer through that anymore. Sometimes, you know, just being alive counts for being brave."

"I never wanted to be brave," I told Ashy honestly. She finished tying the bandages and sat back. "Being brave always meant I would have to do something stupid."

"'Something stupid' is saving your friends, helping the world?" Ashy asked.

"It depends on how you look at it," I answered. "It's stupid because I put myself in physical danger, but really not because if I didn't I'd put myself in mental danger. I couldn't live with myself if I'd have let someone die when I could have saved them."

"I've never heard it put that way," Ashy said to me. She was staring at the floor, thinking. "I've heard about your past. About your brother. Is he still alive?"

"I don't really know," I answered. "It doesn't really matter to me, though. I just hope he's happy."

"I love that you hope he's happy. Everyone else I know would wish him burning in the depths of Hell," Ashy told me.

"What would you wish?" I wondered.

"Well, I would wish they'd realize their mistake and never do it again," she answered.

"Do you wish they would suffer?" I asked curiously. "Give me an honest answer. Austin wishes my brother would die horribly, but I don't think him any less. I think him a little more, even, since he'd admit that to me despite my beliefs."

"For a while I wish they'd be ashamed. I wish they'd find a way to make things a little better, or at least try. I hope that only then they'd be happy," Ashy told me.

"Your fairly neutral, then," I said.

"Yes," Ashy nodded. "You know, you're very different than everyone else I know. I like that about you. I like it alot."

I smiled, feeling warmed. "Ashy, honestly, you are, too. I feel the same way."

Could it be that I was in love with this girl already?

I hoped not. Whenever I liked someone, they usually didn't quite like me back. To add on, I'd just met her.

_**The**____**Buizel**_

The next morning I woke up to some chatter between Celebi, Austin, and Ashy.

"Hello," Austin said when he noticed I was awake. "Glad you're not dead."

"Me, too," I commented.

"We were discussing your new power," Celebi said. "You know you need to have a child now, correct?"

"What?" I wondered, my eyebrows scrunching together in confusion.

"You are now basically Uxie," Celebi explained. I noticed a hint of sadness in your voice. "Uxie eventually has to have a child in order for there to be another Uxie. That now falls upon you."

"So my child will be Uxie?" I wondered.

"That is correct," Celebi answered.

"What about Azelf, then?" Austin asked. "Drowsee's going to die obviously since Wylie hit him, and I do not think someone's going to want to touch him."

Celebi breathed in a sigh. "One of the female Chosens will have to volunteer."

"That's disgusting," Austin gasped.

"Yes," Celebi responded. "But it is a must."

I noticed Ashy look away, and I wondered what she was considering doing.

So, children, I've been working at this a whole lot, but haven't been posting... Yeah... so here are the next two chapters!

Hope you enjoyed... and will enjoy the next chapter :3


	22. Chapter 22

_**The**____**Umbreon**____**As**____**A**____**Human**____**Boy**_

_**(**__**The**____**Memories**__**, **__**Uxie**__**)**_

Years passed, and I turned thirteen. That's when They found me.

By then I was a good fighter. Living on the streets of Chicago, that was a must. I had quite a few scars from times when other kids got jealous of what little I had. That little, by the way, was an abandoned cottage just outside the city. It had both electricity and running water, both great things to have. I was also just about to be fourteen, old enough to find a job, maybe. I had high hopes.

Then the nightmares I had became real, and They found me.

It was a dark night. The sky was covered by clouds and fog flitted through the area, obscuring most everything. I couldn't see a single star or the moon, either.

"Hello," a familiar voice said creepily. The man who had kidnapped my sister and father?

I froze for half a second when I felt a hand on my shoulder, then sprung into abrupt action and kicked out.

"Ow!" the voice yelped. "You'll regret that!"

"Hey! Let the innocent go! He has no part in this!" a feminine voice decided.

"Yes, he does! He's the Chosen we need!" someone else yelled.

Meanwhile, I spun in circles, unable to see anything at all.

I gasped as I felt someone's breath near my ear as that person leaned over me. My second gasp was cut short as the person put a hand over my mouth and whispered, "I'm on your side. Keep quiet." The voice was masculine, so I thought him a man.

To demonstrate that he was on my side, he didn't pick me up and carry me. Instead he took his hand from my mouth and gently took my arm. We both knew it was a grasp I could easily maneuver out from.

I followed, curious.

When we were free of the smoke I took a good look at the man. For all I knew he may have become one of my future enemies, and I'd learned the hard way to know them better even than your closest friends.

He let go of me, but I continued to follow him through the city, hoping to learn something. We eventually reached a small, beat-up looking building at the edge of the city.

"In here," the man said. He opened the door up and went in first. He was smart, seeming to know I wouldn't want him to close the door behind me and have the opportunity to lock me in or block the exit.

I closed the door behind me, glad to hear no click of a lock. I observed my surroundings in a quick glance.

The first thing I realized was that the outside was to fool you. The floor was of an elegant marble and the walls stark white plaster. There was a stylish set of chairs against the righthand wall like those you'd see in the waiting room at a doctor's office. At the back of the room was a black desk with a women working at a computer. There was one door at the right and one left of the desk.

"Hello, Jake," the woman said without looking up. She took one moment to glance at me before asking, "Who's the kid?"

"He's the kid Diana knew," the man who'd brought me here, Jake, said. Diana? The name sparked my interest. "She was right about one thing: the Black Furs want him."

"Shit," she said. "I'll call Diana over."

"Thanks, Marci," Jake said. He turned to face me. "You can come in, you know."

I shook my head, preferring to stand at the door.

"Alright," he said, shrugged, and turned away.

A moment later a tall woman with black hair and dark eyes came out of the door to the desk's left. She saw me and raced over.

"Aaron!" the woman I recognized as Diana, my father's sister, raced over to me.

"Aunt Diana!" I couldn't help but gasp in surprise. "You disappeared!"

"No, I had to leave," she explained. I remembered that when I was little, she'd sit on her knees and stand at my height. The last time I saw her, two weeks before my father and sister had been kidnapped, she had been sitting on her knees as well. Now I was thirteen, much older, and much taller. Almost as tall as her, actually. "I'm here now, though. I'm so sorry, Aaron."

"Why?" I wondered.

"I haven't been helping you," she admitted. "I know your dad and sister were kidnapped. I thought it could have been avoided, but it wasn't. I'm so sorry."

I didn't understand what she had said, but I trusted her, so I simply said, "It's okay. You're helping me now."

"That's right," Diana said, nodding. "Honey, you'll be safe here. You can trust these people."

"Okay," I said again. "Where will I go?"

"You can stay here, with me," Diana said. "We have a room for you across from mine."

"You'll take him from here, right?" Jake asked.

"Yeah," Diana said. "Come on, Aaron, I'll show you your room."

_**The**____**Umbreon**____**As**____**A**____**Human**____**Boy**_

_**( **__**The**____**Memories**__**, **__**Azelf**__**)**_

"So who's after me?" I asked Diana. The next day, we were sitting in the place's underground cafeteria, eating lunch.

"An organization called the Black Furs," my aunt said. "They are convinced you have some power or something. I'm not so sure on the details since we don't know too much."

"And who are you guys?" I wondered next.

"We are the Guardians. We help the people They and other organizations kidnap," she explained. "We've been trying to find out more about them when we rescue people, but their files are hidden and their mouths are shut."

"What about my father and sister?" I asked.

Diana bit her lip a moment before admitting, "We don't know, Aaron. I'm so sorry."

I looked away and whispered a fake, "It's okay."

That's when people busted open the door and yelled, "We're here for the kid!"

"Shit!" Diana yelled.

The memory ended.

_**Oooh**__**, **__**memory**____**cliffhanger**__**! **_

_**I**__**'**__**m**____**double**__**-**__**spacing**____**here**____**in**____**order**____**to**____**see**____**if**____**I**____**can**____**beat**____**the**____**system**____**and**____**have**____**italics**____**and**____**bold**__**.**_

_**Hopefully**____**it**__**'**__**s**____**working**____**and**____**you**____**can**____**read**____**these**____**words**__**.**_

_**Hope**____**you**____**ENJOYED**__**!**_


	23. Chapter 23

Gosh, I love this chapter with a ridiculous passion. It's terribly funny. I love Carry, guys. Just, just by the way.

ENJOY!

Chapter 23

_**The**____**Espeon**_

"Today we need to head to Surrounded Sea," Austin said to Dark, Jared, Heather, Wylie, Ashy, and I as we ate breakfast that morning.

"To find which legend?" Heather wondered curiously.

"Manaphy," Wylie said, then took another bite of his apple. That was all he was eating.

Noticing it, I frowned. "Shouldn't you be eating more than that? You didn't have dinner yesterday, either."

Wylie admitted with a shrug, "I haven't been hungry at all. I'm still not."

"It's a side effect of the drug I used to keep him out," Ashy explained. She looked him in the eye and said sternly, "I explained to you the side effects and told you to tell me."

Wylie nodded. "I know. I'm eating now, though."

"An apple," Austin said, raising his eyebrows at his friend.

"I'll give him something later," Ashy sighed.

"Um," Jared started.

We all turned to him. Wylie asked, "Is there something you'd like to ask?"

"Yeah," Jared said, nodding. "Why can't we just call all the legends over so they can give Dark his memories back?"

Dark flinched visibly. "That would hurt."

"It's a smart idea, but impossible," Wylie said. I noticed how Austin frowned and knitted his eyebrows together in confusion at the idea of impossibility. Wylie continued, saying, "As Dark just said, all those memories hitting him at once wouldn't feel so great. Also, the only way to contact all the legends at once would be to emit a special signal. That signal would alert all the legends, with us or against us, of our position. That isn't preferable."

"Okay," Jared accepted this with a nod.

"How did you know all that?" Austin wondered, still frowning.

Wylie closed his eyes, thinking.

"It's part of his power," a voice explained. Celebi teleported into the chair next to Wylie. He opened his eyes and smiled.

"Good morning," Wylie greeted. The rest of us echoed something similar.

"Can you explain what exactly Wylie can do now?" Austin wondered.

"That would be helpful," Wylie agreed.

"You have inherited all of Uxie's powers," Celebi began. "You have all of her intelligence, her abilities of telekinesis and telepathy, and an interesting part of the longevity."

"Uh, the last part again?" Austin asked. He looked lost. I had pretty much stopped listening considering I stopped understanding when Celebi teleported in. How had she known what we were talking about? A question that would never be answered. It was probably some weird part of her Celebi-powers.

"I don't have to eat much to survive," Wylie explained. "I didn't know that. Shouldn't I have?"

"All the information will sink into you as you sleep," Celebi clarified. "You don't know everything she does as of yet. You still should eat at least once a day to remain healthy, Wylie. I said called the part strange because you don't feel hungry partially because you aren't and partially because it blocks it from your mind."

"So it isn't a side effect of anything?" Ashy wondered, tilting her head in curiosity.

Celebi shook her head. "I don't think so, no."

"Good to know," she said. Austin nodded in agreement.

"So," I said. "Can we go now?"

"Let's," Wylie agreed.

As we all shifted to get up, Austin said quietly, "Wylie, I think you should sit this one out."

"What?" Wylie asked.

"You haven't fully recovered yet," Austin observed, nodding at his pink scars and the purple stitches. "And you're still getting used to your powers. Maybe you should stay here."

"I agree," Ashy put in.

"Well," Wylie said, considering. "Alright."

Austin smiled. "Cool. Have fun here."

"We'll see," Wylie sighed.

"Let's go," I insisted again, edging close to the door.

"We're coming," Austin said as he and the others walked towards me and the door. "The dungeon isn't going anywhere."

_**The**____**Espeon**_

We headed through the wet dungeon, Austin leading. Jared and Heather chatted happily behind him, enjoying the cool dungeon air. I walked behind the two with my head down and mouth full of foul words. Dark walked silently behind me, like a shadow.

"I hate water," I muttered. "Why are we always going in dungeons that are so..."

"Wet?" Jared finished, smirking with amusement.

"Yeah," I said, my sharp voice clearly showing my disgust.

Jared laughed.

Picking my head up, I demanded, "Are you laughing at me?"

The kid stuck his tongue out towards me and then skirted ahead.

"You...!" I shouted, then speeded after him, narrowly avoiding all the puddles.

"Guys! Wait!" Austin called, but neither of us paid attention.

Jared yelled obnoxiously, "Watch out! Wet cat on the loose!"

"You're gonna regret saying that!" I barked. (Barked. Great description. I'm a cat.) I roared. (Yeah. That's better!)

Jared turned his head to face me and smiled happily. "No, I-" he began, then ran into a wall at full force.

"Nice job!" I said, then bursted out laughing. Jared peeled himself off the wall, tripped, and fell into a puddle. Steaming, he stood up and held his nose in his paws while it probably throbbed.

"What happened?" Austin demanded, rushing over here.

"Is everyone alright?" Heather asked, coming to a stop behind him. Dark sat behind her, looking a bit worried.

"No!" Jared whined.

"Yeah, he's fine," I managed to say through my laughter, which had only increased at the sound of his voice turned all nasally because he was holding his nose.

"So what happened?" Heather asked.

"Karma happened," I answered. Dark cracked a smile, catching the human joke, while Austin and Heather stared at me blankly. "Never mind," I muttered. "Human thing. Jared made fun of me and then smashed into the wall."

Austin smiled broadly, obviously unable to contain it. "Good job, buddy!"

"Guys, he's hurt!" Heather said in his defense. "Stop laughing at him!" But she could barely hide the smile on her face.

"But that the whole reason as to why I'm laughing," I said. My laughs had subsided; I was now smiling to my ears.

Jared narrowed his eyes at me in a glare.

"Jared, you can't possibly look intimidating when you're holding your nose," I said snidely. I was now smirking.

"Damnit," Jared muttered, putting his head down in defeat.

"Let's keep moving now, shall we?" Austin asked, still smiling.

"Yes," Jared said, and got up and stomped away.

Smirking, I got up and ran over to match his pace. "Now who's a wet cat?" I asked.

"I'm an otter!" Jared barked, but he knew he was beaten. He hung his head low in defeat and slowed down while I held mine high and kept at my pace, bathing in the glory of beating Jared.

TheUmbreon

Just when Carry was about to beat someone in anger at being so wet, we reached the end pit. It was basically a sliver of sand and a big pool of water. I stayed at the back of the cave, wanting to meet the legend before getting close enough for the memory to activate as you had to be a certain distance for it to work. I'd figured so anyway, considering the process didn't activate right away when we met Uxie.

"Who goes there?" a very masculine voice demanded.

"Celebi's Chosens," Austin responded. "And friends."

There was a short silence before the voice responded, "Okay." From the big puddle emerged a small blue creature who I recognized as Manaphy.

"Hello," Austin said, then ducked his head in respect. The rest of us copied.

"Greetings," the Manaphy said.

"Wait, you're a boy?" Carry demanded with an open mouth and wide eyes.

"Yes!" Manaphy said, sounding annoyed.

"But you're so cute," Carry observed.

"I'm a man! Hello, MAN-aphy?" the small blue thing yelled, turning red with anger. "And I'm not cute!"

"That's just my opinion, no need to freak out," Carry muttered, rolling her eyes.

"Well, your opinion is WRONG!" Manaphy shouted.

"Opinions can't be wrong, they're opinions!" Carry argued. I could tell she was having fun with this, sitting so calmly while she completely pissed Manaphy off. I had started to think she had some sort of power of annoyment or something wonky like that. Nothing had proved me wrong yet.

"Whatever," Carry said, rolling her eyes.

That did it.

Manaphy yelled, "Don't roll your eyes at me! I'm a legendary pokemon, and what are you? You're an espeon! A stupid, worthless espeon who-"

"Has been chosen to protect one of the most important pokemon on the planet," Carry finished. "I was also brought to this world by celebi who trained me herself. And who are you again?"

"I'm important, too! I have a memory and I-" Manaphy started yelling again.

"Pokemon!" Austin shouted above Manaphy's loud voice. "We're here because we need that memory. Give it to Dark,, please, and we'll go."

Manaphy took a moment to close his eyes and collect himself. He shot Carry a glare before looking at me and saying, "Take a step towards me so the memory can activate."

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before standing and stepping forward. The wave of a memory hit me like a slap across the face, and darkness befell me.

Now do you guys see why I love it so much? This was a lot of fun to write, that's for sure! I hope it was just as fun to read!

And Wylie's newly gained powers are yet another interesting thing, are they not? We'll see what else he needs to do, hint hint.

None of you probably got that, but whatever. You will soon.


	24. Chapter 24

I hate this chapter... it's so sad...

ENJOY!

P.S. WARNING: Blood.

A Different Dark

Chapter 24

_**The**____**Umbreon**____**As**____**A**____**Boy**_

_**(**__**The**____**Memories**__**, **__**Manaphy**__**)**_

The other people in the cafeteria all got up and quickly but calmly started for the exits. Diana grabbed my arm and went after Them, whispering in my ear that she'd protect me.

"Stop," came that familiar voice. I felt the cold barrel of a gun against my back, so I froze in fear and tensed for the all-possible bullet that might ring around in my rib cage at any given moment.

"Craeg, let us go," Diana said calmly.

"Never," Craeg said, and he snickered.

"You took my sister and my father," I said, mimicking Diana's calmness.

Craeg's snickering stopped abruptly. "I did indeed." His voice was now locked in my memory, surrounded by hatred. "I'm about to take you two as well."

"Why her?" I asked slowly. "Why me?"

"You, my friend, are Chosen by a legend," he responded. He whispered close to my ear, "And she makes a great hostage."

More people from the good organization flooded in as we were being forced through the building. Their eyes were full of sorrow, some even regret, and their mouths were turned down with defeat as they wished they could do something but were unable to else on of the two of us die.

They took us outside to a red van, only slightly less suspicious than a black van. They blindfolded us after that and shoved us into the vehicle. I caught the license plate number. 678 9012. I added it to my box of memories along with Craeg's voice and, once I caught it, his face. That bastard would pay one day.

_**The**____**Umbreon**____**As**____**A**____**Boy**_

They locked me alone in a cell once we got there a few hours later. They never took off the blindfold. I'd tried to take it off myself, but my knot-untying skills were fairly lacking.

What felt in my head and my belly like two days passed before I heard footsteps again. I said nothing and made no movement as someone picked me up and carried me away.

When the person finally put me down, I felt a chair beneath me. I felt the harsh, sharp strands of fraying rope as they anchored my arms to the middle of the chairs back. Then someone took the blindfold off.

After my eyes slowly adjusted to the light, I looked around. In front of me was my sister and my aunt. My small sister was beaten, broken. There were bruises all over her face. My aunt looked the same, just a smidge stronger. Both smiled weakly as I saw them. The entire room was white, including the door to my right. The woman who had carried me in stood in front of it with a bat in her hand.

"No! Let them go!" I yelled, starting to thrash. "Do whatever you want to me, but don't hurt them! Please!" I flinched as I felt the wetness of a tear slide down my cheek. "Please..."

"No," the cruel woman said, sounding as if she were stifling a laugh. "I'm not sorry."

I watched in horror as the woman walked over to my sister, who closed her eyes and put her head down. She held the bat high above her head and was about to slam it down when I yelled.

"Don't do it! Tell me what you want! I'll give you whatever you want!" I screamed, thrashing again. I kicked my legs and wiggled my arms to try and free myself, but I had no luck. The chair was anchored to the floor, to make things worse. I knew I should have gotten out and escaped when I'd had the slight chance I'd been handed when she had so lightly grabbed me...

"We want to warn you what will happen if you don't listen to us," the woman said, lowering the bat to her side.

"I get it! I do! Really! Just let them go!" I begged, feeling terribly huge amounts of emotion swell inside me.

My sister opened her eyes and mouthed, "Just listen to them and they won't hurt you. I love you and it is my last wish that you just listen and then escape once they trust you. It's Diana's, too. Please, my best brother, please."

"No!" I yelled, but she closed her eyes softly and gave the slightest nod. The tears were streaming down my face now. "No..."

"Yes!" the woman retorted, beginning to laugh with pleasure in her eyes, and lifted the bat up higher. She then slammed it down onto my sister's head, cracking her fragile skull. Blood started dripping out, and I hoped she was dead already, else she be facing extreme pain. But judging by the slight smile on her face, she had died before the bat had swung. Was it possible she had just given up? Stayed strong until she could deliver her message?

I hoped I was really the great person she'd thought I was and the best brother who she'd died for.

As the dripping blood started to pour from my sister's head and then pool around her little feet, the woman got tired of watching.

"This one's turn," she announced.

"Goodbye, Aaron. If you can, always remember I love you," she whispered. "Do me a favor and tell Celebi I said 'hello,' too, if you get the chance."

"I will," I whispered, though I didn't know who Celebi was. The tears were still streaming. The bat went up.

"I love you," she whispered. The bat went down,

hitting and splitting her skull

with a sickening

smack.

I fainted.

_**The**____**Umbreon**____**As**____**A**____**Boy**_

I woke up with a start the next morning in the bed Diana had given me. I sat up and asked myself, "Was that all a dream? A terrible, horrible dream?"

"I'm afraid not," a voice said. I looked up to the see Jake, the guy who had saved me the first time, in the doorway.

"How did I get back here?" I wondered.

"We came and got you a minute or so after they killed Diana," Jake said, sounding soft with sadness and regret. "I'm sorry. We found you and got there as fast as we could, but they killed them right away. I'm sorry, Aaron."

"No," I said abruptly, and stared darkly down at my lap.

"No?" Jake asked, frowning.

"No," I agreed. "'Aaron' means bringer of light. I do not bring light, I bring death. I-"

"It isn't your fault," Jake shouted to me, sounding and looking determined to get it through my head.

"Then whose fault is it?" I demanded, looking him in the eye. He stayed quiet. "Yours? Diana's? My sister's? No. It's mine. I don't bring light, my name is a lie. I bring darkness and death." I hung my head low.

"Your name doesn't mean anything, just what to call you, Aaron," Jake said softly.

"That doesn't matter," I stated, looking him in the eye. "My name is Dark now. I have one purpose in my life from this point onward, and that's to kill the one who kidnapped me and killed so many." I paused and took a sad, deep breath, closing my eyes for an instant. I opened them back up and, with determination in my voice, I asked, "Will you help me? If you don't, then that's just fine. I'll leave and train on by myself, then seek revenge and kill him on my own time."

"I'll help you," Jake said, quickly, a tinge of fear on his face. He feared for my safety, I gathered. "On one condition."

"What?" I asked.

"You join us and help the other people the Black Furs kidnap and hurt," Jake said. "When the time is right, you have my permission to kill him."

I stared at him for a long moment, thinking, before finally saying, "...Okay." I remembered that this included my father, whose fate I still did not know. "I'm only thirteen, you know."

"I started at fourteen," Jake responded. "Get some sleep today. We'll start your training tomorrow."

"Great," I said to myself, and then lied back down as Jake backed out and closed the door.

0.0 Well, who knew I could be so dark? (Catch my wordplay?)

So that, my friends, is the story of Dark and his name. There ya go, goodbye! Hope you enjoyed!

P.S. I'm so creative, guys. I wonder if you caught it. The license plate number 678 9012? Well, I started at six and pressed down the line of numbers until 0, then I went to one and finally two. Oh, so creative. Yeah. No.

But, gawd... Poor Dark, man, poor Dark...


	25. Chapter 25

Hello, everybody!

I like this chapter a lot! I miss chapters like these. I'm stuck writing the dramatic ones right now... Not as fun but more important to the story to write.

Hope you enjoy!

_**The**____**Espeon**_

"Carry," Austin said, crossing his arms and raising his eyebrows at me expectantly. He nodded in the direction of Manaphy. Manaphy caught Austin's look and crossed his arms and tilted his head up, also waiting.

"What?" I asked innocently, smirking just a little.

Manaphy twitched his right eye. "An apology, of course!"

"You, too," Austin said, nodding at Manaphy. "Both of you."

"What?" Manaphy demanded, his arms dropping to his side in shock. "Why?"

Austin shifted his crossed arms and continued to wait.

"I'm very sorry for making fun of you," I said, giving in. I felt a little bad because I hurt his feelings, but not so for rolling my eyes at him when he let me tick him off so easily. Plus I wasn't particularly interested in Austin being pissed at me.

Manaphy drooped his head in defeat. "I'm sorry for thinking myself above you," he said, not sounding terribly sorry but not not. Either way, the moment he was finished with his apology he immediately crossed his arms, picked his head back up, and stared at Dark. "So. Austin. He's your brother Chosen, is he not?"

"Brother Chosen?" Austin wondered, taking on a look of confusion.

"You two are both Celebi's Chosens, though Chosens usually never meet considering they're born in different worlds. I call you two brothers based on your similar powers," Manaphy explained.

"I see," Austin said, nodding. "Well, yes, in that case, he is."

"Interesting. Than what's with the other ones? Why are you keeping them around?" Manaphy wondered, completely ignoring the fact that us "other ones" were actually sentient beings sitting within striking distance of him.

Austin sweat-dropped and said, "You know they're right here listening."

"Yeah, and?" Manaphy asked rudely, raising an eyebrow.

"Why do you keep yourself around?" I muttered to myself, looking away to hide the fact that I was rolling my eyes at him.

"What was that?" Manaphy demanded, instantly turning to me with narrowed eyes and a set jaw.

"She was wondering why you keep yourself around. Frankly, so am I," Heather said, tilting her chin up at him. She had a slight smirk on her face. My respect for her bumped up a little because she would say such a thing to him.

"Very good, Heather," I said, smiling. "That was great."

"Thank you," Heather glanced at me and said, then turned back to Manaphy and remarked, "You deserved it."

"Why don't we go home and check on Wylie?" Austin asked abruptly, bending over to pick Dark up off the ground. The lucario was trying to hide a smile of amusement from watching this.

"Good idea," Manaphy said dryly, narrowing his eyes further.

As we turned to walk out, I stuck my tongue out at him. I waited just long enough to see his eyes brighten with angry fire, teeth clench, and face scrunch up. I bolted once he started forming a ball of water in between his paws.

Once the five of us were a good floor away, I said, "What a bastard."

"Carry," Austin said, his voice not showing whether he was accusing me or something.

"What? You don't think so?" I asked, rolling my eyes again. "I'm not entitled to my opinion here, either?"

Austin smirked. "You forgot 'narcissistic midget.'"

"And arrogant," Jared snorted.

"And conceited," Heather added.

I smiled, my lips curving up to my ears. "Maybe you guys do pay attention."

(Aww, bonding moment between folks! So cute :D)

_**The**____**Buizel**_

_**A**____**Few**____**Minutes**____**After**____**The**____**Others**____**Had**____**Left**_

After everyone else left I followed Ashy into the medical department, curious as to how far she was in her training. She padded into her office, hopped up onto a chair, and started looking at the files on her desk, me standing next to her, peering down at them.

"So what are you doing?" I wondered.

"So what are _you_ doing?" Ashy countered with a playful smile.

"I'm curious," I told Ashy.

Ashy closed the folder she was looking in and walked over to a file cabinet. She stuffed the one in and pulled out another. As she came over and laid it back on her desk, I noticed it had today's date on it.

"Curiosity killed the cat," Ashy said as she started leafing through it.

"If you hadn't noticed, I'm a weasel," I smiled. "And I've almost been dead more times than I can count."

"I know," Ashy said, nodding towards my chest. "I saw, remember?"

Feeling sensitive though the scars were invisible beneath my fur, I crossed my arms over the spot where most of them criss-crossed. "I know."

Ashy smiled once more. "A patient is supposed to be here. I'm double-checking to make sure it was now."

"Doctor's appointment?" I wondered, tilting my head in curiosity.

"Nope," she said. "I'm also a therapist."

"You really are replacing me," I said, then laughed.

"I am?" Ashy asked, eyebrows up in surprise and mouth slightly agape.

"Most certainly!" I agreed. "You're taking both my jobs."

"Oh," Ashy said, looking sheepishly back down at her files. "I'm sorry."

I laughed again. "Ashy, both were only temporary. I'm mainly a member of a rescue team and I only ever did it when I wasn't on a mission."

"Oh," Ashy said, glancing apologetically up at me. "No one told me that!"

"No one told me that you were here, either," I responded. "It's good to know that Chimecho will has someone to help her out full time, though, so I'm glad you're here."

"Good to know," Ashy said, eyes quickly scanning the papers.

"And I'm not sitting in my room all day, either," I said happily. "So thanks for that."

"Chimecho wouldn't let you help her?" Ashy asked, glancing up at me.

"No, she'd have me strictly lying down. One time when I was here sick she wouldn't even let me keep my eyes open," I told her.

"Really?" Ashy wondered, taking a moment to look up at me and read my facial expression to see if I was joking or not.

"Seriously," I confirmed, nodding.

"Wow," she said, raising her eyebrows in surprise. "Chimecho's never been that strict with anyone else."

"Then again," I put a finger to my chin thoughtfully, reconsidering. "Austin and I had caught the stomach flu twice in three weeks, and when we finally got out on a mission we went to steam cave and Austin ended up badly burned and I got hypothermia and we were stuck in the guild for another two weeks. The members were pretty sick of us by then."

Ashy laughed fairly hard, her shoulders shaking with it and face lit up with joy. "When and how was this?"

"Two years ago when we were still goofy apprentices," I explained, beaming in the fact I'd made her laugh so hard. "It's a very long story, but in short the boiling cave water burned Austin but not me because I was used to hot water, then only I got hypothermia when we walked back because he was used to cold and I wasn't."

"Walked? What happened to badges?" Ashy wondered.

"Uh..." I pulled a sheepish smile onto my face. "Left them at home, under Austin's bed."

Ashy snorted. "You two _were_ goofy little apprentices."

"Oh, yeah," I agreed, and we laughed.

There was a small silence between us, though not one of awkwardness. It was one of her doing her work and me not distracting her.

I enjoyed it despite myself.

Author Note:

MORE BONDING MOMENTS! Yay for bonding :D

Hope you enjoyed!


	26. Chapter 26

Well, here's some filler for you all. The last bit is quite important, though!

ENJOY!

Chapter 26

_**The**____**Umbreon**_

I woke up in my straw bed at the guild and sighed. My sister was dead. My aunt was dead. My mother was dead. Odds were my father was dead. All I wanted to do was go back to my dreamless sleep and not ever wake up. I didn't want to have to think about it. Would you?

I sighed again and rolled my shoulders. Man. Life hated me like nobody else.

"Are you awake, Dark?" a feminine voice wondered.

Dark. The name I've been calling myself this entire adventure, probably years before that. It wasn't even my real name. I probably hadn't thought about my real name in a long time before the memory.

I didn't move, wanting to be left alone to my sorrows.

"Dark? I know you're awake," a much more familiar and much harsher voice alerted me. Carry.

"Not now," I grumbled.

"Rough memory?" Carry wondered.

"They're all rough as hell," I muttered. "Like being shaved with sandpaper except worse."

"Mm," Carry said. I pictured her nodding and biting her lip. She didn't quite understand (did anybody?) but she tried her best to. It was appreciated.

"Is he okay?" the first voice wondered.

"Ashy, he's... he'll be alright," Carry said quietly. She added in a whisper I wasn't supposed to hear, "I hope."

Ashy. Right. Chimecho's new apprentice.

"Should we leave him?" Ashy wondered, sounding unsure.

"Um, wait for me outside," Carry decided. I heard Ashy slowly pad out the door, then heard it click quietly closed. Crap. Carry was going to push-

I yelped as she shoved me off my bed.

With an enormous sigh I sat up and said, "Carry, just leave me be."

"No, Dark. I'm not going to let you wallow in sorrow. We've got world-saving business to do," Carry said, sitting up tall with her chin up. "Now we're going to Shaymin Village. Let's go."

I tilted my head curiously. "World-saving?"

Carry shrugged. "Mesprit said the world needed you, didn't she?"

"Yeah, whatever," I said sourly. "Let's just get it done."

I padded past Carry and out the door. Ashy stopped me and wondered, "Are you alright?"

I looked at her, unsure as to what I should say. Lie and say I was alright? Tell her the truth and receive her pity? I didn't want it. Lying seemed easier. Before I could answer, though, Ashy said, "No. Okay. Well, just know that your past does not determine your future if you don't let it."

Did she know that my father's fate was still unknown to me? Or was she referring to the fact that there was a lot of death in my past, but there may be no more if I can help it? Did she even know about my past? I realized she probably did not. Either way, I appreciated the words of wisdom so I bobbed my head. "Thank you," I told her, meaning it.

Ashy smiled. "You're welcome, Dark. Good luck."

I nodded again. Carry walked forward and I followed.

_**The**____**Umbreon**_

Shaymin Village looked just how it sounded- a small village coated in flowers of every kind with a dungeon built into the mountain it was based in.

"Hello and welcome to our village!" a furret exclaimed in greeting as she ran up to us. "Are you here to buy some flowers?"

"Actually, we're here to see Shaymin," Carry said. "Could you show us where she is?"

"Carry, we have some time," Heather decided. She looked very excited. "I'm sure we could see some flowers!"

Jared, Carry, and I all groaned simultaneously.

"Oh, come on, you guys!" Heather said, pleading now. "Just a few minutes!"

"No," Carry said. "Just no."

"Flowers aren't the only things we sell here," the furret put in. "We also have a juice bar and a flea market with all sorts of cool things!"

"...Fine," I mumbled.

"WHAT?" Carry demanded. She whipped around to face me. "What?"

"Heather can go see her flowers and the rest of us can go look at the items," I decided, shrugging.

"And maybe the juice bar?" Jared wondered. "I've got some gummies. I heard they made great shakes, especially with the fresh fruit they use here."

"Why not?" I asked. I was surprised when I wondered if they had any alcohol. I was surprised I remembered what alcohol was. Did I really want to get drunk with everybody else over here? Could umbreons even _get_ drunk?

Everybody smiled except Carry, who just grumbled, "Whatever."

"Fantastic!" the furret exclaimed. She pointed to our right and said, "The juice bar is over there and the market is next to it." She turned to Heather. "Come with me and I'll show you the flowers!"

"Great!" Heather said. Furret rushed off with Heather at her heels.

"Let's go to the juice bar," I decided. I sounded pretty numb but no one commented.

As I headed over to the building with a big jug of juice on it, Carry and Jared chit-chatted about fruit. Jared seemed to know what he was talking about but Carry didn't seem too interested.

The small building seemed bigger and brighter than the outside foretold thanks to the yellow everything and the bright lights. There were several sets of chairs and tables as well as a bar. There was a range of pokemon here from a scyther to a teddiursa to a very familiar orange weasel next to a lucario.

"What are you guys doing here?" Jared asked as we approached our friends at the bar.

Austin turned in his chair, a drink in his paw and the usual smirk on his face. "Waiting for you. We beat you, by the way."

"What?" Carry demanded. She climbed up onto the chair behind Wylie.

Wylie turned to her, a drink in his paw, too. "We departed after you but we were here a good half an hour ago."

"What took you guys so long?" Austin added, taking a swing of his drink. It was something the color of a weird whitish blue.

"Not my fault Jared's so slow," Carry shrugged. She put a paw on the bar top and called, "Yo! Gimme the best thing you got!"

"Hey!" Jared protested. "That's not cool!"

Carry smirked at him. "Fine. It was my fault since I didn't hurry the rest of you along enough."

"Whatever," Jared said, rolling his eyes. He climbed up onto the chair next to Austin. I sat next to Carry.

"Here you are. Two Poke, please," the spinda behind the counter said. Jared paid (since he had the bag) and the woman handed Carry the same blueish liquid as Austin's. "You've met my cousin, no?"

"They probably haven't," Austin said, motioning towards Carry, Heather, Jared, and me. "Wylie and I have."

"Very good, very good," Spinda said, and walked over to the next customer. Spinda had what would be called a Jamaican accent in my world, but I didn't know what it was called here and didn't ask.

"What is this?" Carry wondered, staring down into her drink. She looked at Austin since he had the same thing.

Austin shrugged. "I don't know. It tastes good, though."

"Try it," Wylie advised. "Austin's got good taste."

"Alright. If I die of poison then I'll kill you if you're not already dead," Carry warned, looking at Austin through narrowed eyes.

"'Kay. Good luck with that," Austin said, smirking.

Carry first jumped down and got herself a straw. Once back in her seat she stuck it into the cup and tentatively took a sip.

"Is it good?" Jared wondered.

Carry tilted her head to the side and looked up into the corner, thinking. Eventually she nodded. "Yeah, actually. Like a smoothie."

"Pass it over," I asked, and Carry slid the cup to me. I took a sip of it and nodded my agreement. "Like an oran berry smoothie."

"Smoothie?" Austin asked, frowning. "What?"

"Human word for drinks with the same texture," Carry told Austin, holding her cup out to show Jared and Wylie since they didn't have the drink in front of them like her or Austin.

"Okay," Wylie said, nodding. "Interesting."

"Wait a minute," Jared said, looking at Wylie. "Aren't you still supposed to be at the guild?"

At the same time, Austin denied, "No!" and Wylie said indifferently, "Possibly."

"In other words, yes, yes he is," Carry said, looking smug. "Two bucks Chimecho'll hunt him down."

"I'm in," Austin said, smiling broadly in amusement.

"Me, too," Jared agreed, nodding.

"Wouldn't surprise me," I said, shrugging.

"You all think I'm screwed then, huh?" Wylie asked, sweat-dropping. "Fantastic."

Yeah, well, that's when the glass door was thrown open so hard when it hit the wall it shattered.

"Oh, f**king hell," Carry spat the words at the ground. "You b****ds again? Really?"

In the doorframe appeared the exact person I wanted to kill. "Did you miss us?" Craeg asked, smirking broadly. Someone screamed.

"This time we ain't alone," Skun walked up to stand beside his teammate.

Ashy was trapped between Skun's claws, her eyes wide with fear.

Author's Note:

Uh-oh. This isn't so terribly good, is it?

Also, Dark is just... not... good. Just... poor Dark.

And Austin. No idea what he's drinking. I find that funny for some reason xD

Hope you enjoyed!


	27. Chapter 27

_**CHAPTER**__** 27**_

_**THE**____**UMBREON**_

_**(**__**FIGHT**____**SCENE**____**AT**____**TOP**__**, **__**SHAYMIN**____**HELPS**____**BUT**____**DARK**__**, **__**CARRY**__**, **__**AUSTIN**__**. **__**AND**____**WILL**____**ARE**____**SUCKED**____**INTO**____**FUTURE**__**? **__**HEATHER**____**KILLED**__**?)**_

"...Help," Ashy squeaked. "Please."

Wylie jumped off his chair and walked a few steps forward. Very calmly yet very demandinly, he said, "Put. Her. Down."

"Why should we?" Craeg asked, his smirk widening. "Is the weasel going to kill?"

Wylie stood silent for a moment. Very uncharacteristically, he narrowed his eyes and warned, "...Yes. I'll signal for my friend on the roof to blow this place to bits."

Everyone in the room gasped, but I knew that Wylie was lying. He wouldn't hurt any of us. I was certain.

"No, you won't," Skun argued. He narrowed his eyes to slits and reminded Wylie, "You told me you would never kill. Not for yourself, not for anyone."

Wylie smirked evilly. (I almost frowned, it was so out of character.) "Oh, you stupid skuntank. You see, I'm not such an idiot after all. I had a feeling we'd meet with you here since the very beginning. After all, the conditions are perfect. We're at the base of an isolated mountain with next to no police and plenty of little shops to serve as distractions. You thought you could just come and kill us all. Well, I've decided that if we go down, you're going with us. That little piece of acting you just mentioned was just one part of it."

Skun bit his lip and his eyes widened. "The little weasel... Had a plan the whole time?"

"Couldn't have," Craeg muttered, shaking his head.

Wylie slowly raised his fingers in the air and put them in the position as if he were going to snap. "Your choice. You can put the girl down and get out, or we can all die right now."

Craeg narrowed his eyes and stared at Wylie for a long minute.

"Five," Wylie counted, his eyes narrowing further. "Four."

"Fine. You win this time, freak. Skun, put the girl down," Craeg instructed.

Skun threw Ashy across the room. She yelled as she flew but Wylie reached up and caught her, his eyes still narrowed.

"Now get out," Wylie said, spitting the words onto the ground.

Craeg glared at Wylie for just a moment before leaving, Skun on his trail.

Two minutes passed. Wylie suddenly gave a huge sigh and hung his head, closing his eyes. He stood like that for a second before standing tall and announcing, "That was all a lie, everyone. There's no one on the roof, no bomb, no nothing. I made all of it up, I swear on my life."

"But why?" a little nidorina who looked very young asked from across the room, her eyes wide. "I was so scared."

"I know, and I'm really truly very sorry," Wylie said softly, his eyes showing sympathy. "I didn't want the bad guys to hurt anyone."

"Were they the bad guys?" the nidorina wondered, nodding her head towards the door.

"They're the very bad guys," Wylie said, nodding. "They've hurt a lot of people. I didn't want you or your friends or my friends to get hurt, so I scared them away."

"Um," Ashy said. Wylie was still holding her.

"Oh! I'm so sorry, Ashy," Wylie apologized profusely and placed her gently on the ground. "You aren't hurt, are you?"

"I'm not," Ashy said, shaking her head.

Wylie looked to the crowd of people. "Is anyone hurt?"

People looked around. Someone said, "No. Thank you."

"That was so brave of you," Ashy said to Wylie.

He shrugged modestly. "It was nothing. Just words."

"I disagree," Ashy said. She stepped up to him and kissed his cheek.

Wylie smiled a smile so wide that it touched his ears. Then he fell over and fainted.

Ashy started taking his heartbeat and things while we helped everyone get out safely. Spinda was left yammering to her cousin on the phone about the whole mess.

Austin walked over to stand above his still-fainted friend and said with a wide grin on his face, "What a dork."

"I think it's sweet," Ashy told Austin.

Austin's grin softened to a smile, and he shrugged. "I didn't say it wasn't sweet. In fact, I think it's pretty adorable. I only said he was a dork. And he is."

"Well," Ashy whispered to herself, lowering her head to look fondly at the floor with Wylie probably in mind, "Maybe he'll be my dork." She then looked up and Austin and said, "I'll take him back with me."

"Can you carry him?" I wondered.

"I think so," Ashy said, then smiled. "I'm stronger than I look. If not, I know some of the locals here. They'll help me."

"Alright," Austin said, nodding. "I'd like to go with you, but especially after this attack I have to stay with Team Sound."

"I know," Ashy told him. "And especially after this attack, I have to tell you to be careful. Isn't there any other day that you can come back?"

"It's better to get it done," Heather said softly, staring at the ground a bit sadly. She looked up at Ashy and said, "They'll come after us every day either way. It's just better that we get it done. The faster, the better, as they say."

Ashy looked away. "They also say that sticks and stones may break your bones but words will never hurt you. We all know that isn't true."

Heather walked over and gently put a paw on the glameow's slim shoulder. Ashy looked at her, and Heather said, "Thanks for caring for us, but we'll all make it home safe. I promise."

Ashy shook her head slowly. "I've been made promises since the day I was born. None of them have ever come true. Don't add another to the list."

Heather took her paw back and responded, "We'll be alright."

Ashy looked at her. "Okay. Good luck."

"Thanks," Heather said, smiling.

"Ow," came Wylie's voice from the floor.

"You're awake," Ashy realized.

"That I am," Wylie said, then he stood up easily. He looked over at us and said, "I think we should go now."

"You're coming back to the guild with me," Ashy said with determination in her voice. She looked at him with fierce eyes. "Let's go." Ashy turned to go and stepped towards the door, but Wylie didn't follow. She looked at him and said, "Come on." I noticed sadness and worry swirling in her eyes, but I could tell she knew he wasn't coming by the soft, bittersweet smile on her lips.

Wylie shook his head. "I've got to do my job, Ashy."

"I've got to do mine," she retorted. "Don't make it hard for me."

"I'm sorry," Wylie said. "Ashy, I'll see you soon. I promise."

Ashy shook her head slowly and squeezed her eyes shut. A tear slipped down her cheek. "Don't make a promise you can't keep, Wylie. Promises are just words that break the moment they touch the air."

Wylie ignored her last comment and walked over to her and gave her a hug. "Goodbye, Ashy. I'll see you again. I will."

Ashy, defeated, leaned into his embrace for a moment before breaking away. "Goodbye. Good luck." With that she turned and left.

"Thank you," Wylie said.

We all waited numbly until she was out of eyesight before slowly shuffling out of the building. Austin walked out first, Carry, Jared, and Heather following. I came after them. Wylie stayed behind just a moment. He turned and looked at the destruction. I stood behind him, eyeing him carefully for clues as to what he was thinking.

He just whispered, "Ashy, I promise I love you."

I left, following after everyone else. We waited at the mouth of the dungeon cave until Wylie joined us.

As we entered, I took one last look up at the huge mountain, wondering what doom might await us.

Author's Note:

No one's ever kissed Wylie, people, by the way.

On a random note: I really love Wylie's character!

It occurs to me now how fast Wylie and Ashy developed love for each other xD Sorry about the quickness of it all, folks.

Hope you all enjoyed!

P.S. Oh, SHOOT. This next part... is not fun.


	28. Chapter 28

I AM BAAAA-AAAACK!

AND SO HAPPY ABOUT IT IT I CANNOT SAY. I MISSED YOU, FANTASY. SO, SO MUCH.

ENJOY.

P.S. I forgot how creepy this chapter was 0.0 Beware.

Chapter 28

_**The**____**Umbreon**_

Strangely enough, there were no pokemon in the entire dungeon.

"Maybe they all live in the village?" Heather proposed her reason.

"No," Austin whispered, looking around. He bent down and touched the sandy floor. "I can sense the auras trapped in the sand. Now that I think about it, it's lined with their blood. That's why it's reddish."

We were all silent for a moment, shocked and disgusted.

"Then...?" Wylie said the word none of us wanted to.

"Then the pokemon here were all killed. Their bodies are gone, but something must have dragged them away because some of their auras are still here, walking the halls like ghosts as they fade away."

Heather shivered. "I thought you said they were all dead. Also that their auras are in the floor."

"It's all true," Austin whispered. His gaze flickered over to the corner briefly. Suddenly he gasped and his blue eyes flicked red and his face... looked abruptly older. He lowered his head and stared down at the floor. He whispered as if reading, "Six hundred thousand souls, all crushed like ceramic bowls. Their bodies ground to fine dust they're told, but some few were too bold. They walked away and now they hunt the one who pulled this deadly stunt. Come, come, come another day, but save the world for today. Six hundred thousand souls, all crushed like ceramic bowls. Chosens come and Chosens pass, let's hope these are here to last."

We all stood in shocked silence for a full minute before Wylie whispered, "...Austin?"

Austin snapped his eyes shut and shook his head violently for a good moment. When he opened his eyes, they were blue again and his face was normal. He looked to the corner and yelled, "Leave me alone!"

"Austin? What was that?" Wylie asked quietly, sounding a bit frightened.

"That was my father temporarily taking over my body," Austin muttered, looking angrily at the corner still.

"What?" Carry demanded, wide-eyed with shock.

Austin didn't answer. Instead he yelled at the corner, "I know you're dead! As far as I know, you've been dead since I was six! Now leave me alone!"

"Um, Austin?" Wylie wondered, tilting his head and giving him a sideways glance with his eyebrows raised.

"What?" Austin asked. He was giving the corner death looks.

"Is your father in the corner there?" the buizel wondered.

"Yes," Austin said. Evidently looking at his father in the corner, he narrowed his eyes and shouted, "Yes! I know I'll die. We all will one day. ... No, I'm not afraid of death."

"Um, Austin, we can't see or hear him," Jared reminded our angry friend.

Austin's eyes lit red again. He whispered, "Carry. Use your psychic on me." With a shudder and a blink Austin was normal again. He yelled, "Stop doing that, you bastard! Go away!"

"... Can I do that?" Carry wondered.

"Do what?" Austin wondered, glancing at Carry.

"Use my psychic powers on him," she responded.

"What gave you the idea to?" Austin asked, turning to face her.

"Uh, you," Carry said, giving him a sideways look with her eyebrows furrowed and jaw set with a touch of confusion.

"Oh," Austin said, then turned back to his father. "You mean this a**hole? I can't flipping remember anything when he does that."

"Oh. Well, I can sense your dad, so I'm going to try," Carry responded.

"Throw him against the wall for me a few times, will you?" Austin wondered, daggers in his eyes being shot towards where his father was said to be. (That poor corner is probably dead by now with all these shots directed near it.)

Carry blinked and her eyes reddened. The shape of a lucario formed first, then the details filled in with gray scale coloring, save for his eyes. He looked just like Austin except for his red eyes and older look.

"Hello," his father said.

"Back off!" Austin suddenly hissed, then whipped around and threw an auric wave near Heather. Something black fizzled to life then faded away at the same time just as it was touched. Austin turned back to his father. "Leave! Please! You're endangering my friends here!"

The older lucario ignored his son. He locked gazes with Heather, who shivered as he looked at her.

"She's haunted," Austin's father drew the words out in a very slow, Spanish-accented voice.

"I'm aware. You're only making it worse by being here," Austin hissed the words, his eyes narrowed and angry slits.

"You're doing a great job protecting them," Austin's father told his son. He slowly shifted his gaze to Wylie and said, "You as well. Thank you."

"Great. Thanks. Bye," Austin said.

Austin's father shifted his gaze back to Heather, sending another shiver down her spine. "Your grandmother is angry."

"W-w-w-why?" Heather stuttered. I could see in her wide, fearful eyes memories of painful, scary times. This conversation was quickly bringing out the worst things she'd seen. Brought them out after all the effort she must have gone through in order to bury them.

"She does not understand the color you possess," Austin's father said, his speech still terribly slow. His gaze shifted to a darkening figure behind Heather. Heather screamed and Austin prepared another attack, but his father said loudly with a booming voice, "You know she is not in control of her genes. The color is from _your_ ancestors."

Carry did us all a favor before hand and used her psychic powers. I didn't know exactly what it did, but it worked and the black features of the creature faded into gray and white and the figure was revealed to be a very old-looking vaporeon who looked a bit like Heather with the same yellow eyes.

Heather jumped and spun around to face the creature. Her eyes went wide and her jaw dropped in surprise when she saw it. "Gramma?" she whispered. "You've been the one hurting me?"

The old vaporeon flinched and nodded.

Heather stared at the creature for a few moments before whispering, "I still love you."

The vaporeon looked very sad and regretful suddenly. "You know, my child, I have been following you for so long, just waiting for you to make a mistake big enough to use against you and your coloration. My presence has been attracting horrible spirits to you that have hurt you mentally and sometimes even worn you so much that it affected you physically as well," Heather's grandmother said in that slow, creepy ghost voice. She also sounded sad and regretful. "I am truly sorry, my granddaughter, that my racistness has been harming someone so sweet and caring like you. I even knew what I was doing and did not stop. I even knew what and who you were but did not stop. I guess it took the yell of another to stop me." She turned to the other ghost. "I thank you." She turned back to Heather. "My sweet granddaughter, I love you. Thank you for continuing to love me despite my terrible mistakes."

Then her ghost sat down and slowly faded away.

Heather closed her eyes and smiled lightly in the direction of the spot her grandmother had just been in.

Austin stared at the spot for a long moment before realizing out loud, "She faded once her soul was ready to forgive herself. The reason she didn't move on was that she was too prideful in her racism and she knew it but couldn't get over it. She was constantly guilty but didn't change it."

"How'd you get all that from her apology?" Jared wondered quietly.

Austin glanced at the oshawott and then back to the spot. "I've seen a lot of ghosts. Heard most of them, too. They all have a similar thread of guilt running through them."

We all turned to Austin's father, knowing he had some reason for still being there as well.

Austin's look, once fiery with anger, now was curious and soft. He must have suddenly realized that if Heather's grandmother was still there for a reason, then so must his father be. He probably realized that his father was... guilty. That realization, that his father knew his mistake and was regretful of it, seemed to make Austin realize he was there to apologize.

"Explain," Austin said quietly, not a demand.

"I knew the whole time, about the Chosen's advantages and disadvantages," his father explained quietly, looking away. "I knew everything and never told you. I was afraid so I ran away."

Austin laughed harshly. It wasn't really a laugh but a sound composed of relief, disbelief, and slight anger and understanding that were expelled in a similar way as laughter normally was.

"I can't believe that's really the reason. Dad, so did I. In fact, I _chose_to be Chosen," Austin explained, looking to his father with abrupt understanding in his eyes. "I knew what it meant even though I was little. I get that you were scared, especially since Mom died and if I went insane with power or something ridiculous like that you would probably be killed by your own son. It's scary having to have this power. It would have been great if you were there to help me, but I think it made me stronger in the end that you weren't. Now go. I forgive you. I've never been angry at _you__, _just at the fact that you never told me why you left."

Austin's father smiled. "Thank you."

"Wait!" Whylie yelled suddenly. Everyone immediately looked at him. "Don't fade just yet. What was with the poem before?"

Austin's father's smile disappeared and he grew serious. "A warning," he said, putting a weight on the first syllable of 'warning.' "Everyone of you is in danger. Also an explanation. Someone did kill all these pokemon, including me."

"Who?" Carry demanded, suddenly jumping up onto all four feet. "Who would do such a thing like this?"

"Darkrai," Austin's father said, closing his eyes. The word sounded like a terrible acid that looked just like water. Drink it by mistake and it'll burn your throat out. "He was warning you all. Avoid him as much as you can. He'll steal you away into distant lands that are almost impossible to get back from."

"When?" I wondered. "Recently?"

"Yes. Two days ago," he responded. "Come back another day. His presence may still be here, though maybe it is not him himself."

"We can't come back another day, but we will be fine," I told the ghostly spirit.

"You can go now. Thank you very much," Austin said. "Goodbye, father."

Austin's father closed his eyes and whispered, "Remember my words. Be careful. I love you, my son."

Author's Note:

I AM SOOOO GLAD TO BE BACK... STILL.

ANYWAY.

(This is all when I'm editing this chapter:)

When Austin's father was talking to Carry through Austin I was like, "THAT'S SO WEIRD. WHY DID I WRITE THAT?"

And then he's Spanish... I almost deleted it, but it's a unique character thing, I guess.

(Jaeson: Then why, RKL7, is Austin not Spanish?

RKL7: First of all, you're in the wrong story. Second of all, his father went away when Austin was six. Maybe he lived in Mexico or something.

Jaeson: *Smirks because he's enjoying torturing me* This is the pokemon world. Mexico does not exist.

RKL7: It does in your world!

Jaeson: My world has humans. This one does not.

RKL7: ... Whatever.

Jaeson: Also, the Jamaican spinda-

RKL7: *Smirks as she ignores him and continues editing, eventually getting so focused she can't hear him*

Jaeson: *Mutters* Finally she's focused again. Mission accomplished.)

Yeah, so... Darkrai. This should be interesting.

Warning: I hate the next chapters. Really, I do.

(WHEN I LOOK AT IT ONCE MORE BEFORE POSTING IT, SINCE EDITING CAME EARLIER: OH, NO. THE NEXT CHAPTER... JUST... OH, NO...)


	29. Chapter 29

So, when I started this chapter not only did I start with ADD Chapter 28, but I started with_only_the number 28. Feeling intelligent right now xD (And then I ended it there. I came back and was like, "I didn't even decide the perspective yet?" *Sweatdrop* AND AND AND AND I wrote the header in the wrong style.)

I really, really love the last parts. In fact, if I choose to change the name, it'll probably be called The Bravest Chosens. This also might be one of my favorite chapters because of the last parts. But what do you all think about the name?

_**ADD**____**Chapter**__** 29**_

_**The**____**Lucario**_

As we walked through the last of the floors, I saw more and more of the ghosts. An angry marowak, pacing the halls while lightly slapping his bone onto his paw over and over again. A sad bibarel aimlessly walking about the place with a blank expression. A lonely furret running past us, looking for something she'll never find.

Every time I saw one of the wandering spirits I would stop and watch it until it left or the others called out. Wylie hung next to me. I knew he hated not being able to help more than mentally being my friend and physically being there to tap my shoulder and bring me back into the world of the living.

After a while the ghosts stopped appearing. I resorted to staring at the patchwork floor of gray sand splashed with the dried blood that gave it the occasional red coloring and thinking about all the poor pokemon Darkrai had killed. Eventually the red sand went away as well and I began to sense the darkness.

"Shit," I swore loudly when I realized I was actually sensing it and it wasn't me who was conjuring the feeling.

"What?" Wylie demanded, worry etched into the lines of his face and the wideness of his eyes.

"I didn't bloody realize! F**king hell," I swore again, spitting my words at the ground.

Carry gave me a careful sideways glance and asked with a combination of fear and demand, "What did you not realize?"

"The damn spirits wandering around here aren't just a warning! They're a goshdamn distraction!" I swore a few more times and punched the air again and again. After a moment of this I stood with my head in my hands. "Damn it."

"Oh, gawd, what?" Wylie said slowly, fear taking over his expression. His voice sped up as he asked, "What, Austin, what?"

"The darkness is Darkrai," I said quietly. "He's here."

"But your dad said it was his presence and not specifically him. I thought it was Craeg because he's Darkrai's Chosen and he has those similar dark powers," Carry said, speaking quickly. I could hear the fear, the please-tell-me-this-is-a-dream tone of voice. I could see it in her wide eyes and her set jaw.

I took my head out of my hands and shook my head. "Carry, it's him. Craeg's aura is similar but Darkrai's is much, much stronger and much, much darker. I'm so sorry, guys. I was so preoccupied with the dead that I forgot about the living. I fell into Darkrai's trap by getting so distracted. I'm sorry."

"It doesn't matter," Wylie said with a touch of determination in his voice. "We knew we would have to face him eventually. It's better it's sooner than later."

"You really think we can beat him now?" Jared asked quietly, looking crestfallen. There was a thread of bitter sarcasm in his sad voice.

Wylie closed his eyes and bit his lip for a moment. I knew what he was going to say, so I looked away as he reopened his eyes. "I'm going to tell you all the truth."

"Then do it," Carry said. I glanced at her. Her eyes were full of fierceness and sadness, her jaw was set, and her chin was up. She sat up tall and straight. Carry knew what he was going to say and she was preparing herself for it. "Don't hold back. Tell us the truth and nothing but it."

I turned my gaze back to Wylie and watched as he met each and everyone's gazes for but a second. His expression turned bittersweet as he began, "Look how far we've come, everybody. We have survived Skun and Azelf, Craeg and disease and pain and injury. We've gotten Dark almost all of his old memories back and we have made many new ones. We've stood tall and strong and, most importantly, together for all of it."

"Stop sweet-talking us and just say it," Carry demanded, her voice demanding but her face red, her body slightly shaking, and the fur around her eyes darkened with tears. Her eyes showed pleading. She wanted it said and done.

Dark sat behind her with his head down. His eyes were closed. His ears were hanging down near his head instead of up and alert. He looked up suddenly, his eyes empty, his ears twitching, and caught my gaze, what he'd been looking for. He gave me a slight nod. He also knew what Wylie was going to say.

I switched my gaze to Heather and Jared, who stood close. They were the bravest kids I'd ever met. They both knew, too, but they still held their heads up high. They both looked close to tears. They were both afraid. They both knew that neither of them had to stay. They both knew that they had chosen to stay with us this far, through all this danger, and they could leave at any time. They both knew it, but they stayed.

We started this together, and I know we all wanted to see it finished together.

Besides, Heather and Jared had _chosen_ this path, just as I had chosen to be Chosen and Carry had chosen to become Dark's guardian.

They knew what Wylie was going to say.

They knew it.

But still Heather and Jared stayed.

Not because they had to. Not because they'd made the choice to be Chosen long ago and didn't want to go back on it. Not because they were forced to. Not even because the exit had been blocked or something.

Heather and Jared stayed because they believed in each other and in us and in friendship.

They were Chosen by themselves but had the rare opportunity to take it back easily.

But they didn't.

I think that makes them the bravest Chosens.

I looked at Wylie, who looked near tears by now and, heck, I probably did, too.

But he took a deep breath, put his head down, and said quietly, "No. We won't win." Then he picked his head up again and decided, "And none of us will make it back in one piece. We'll all be slashed, cut, bruised, bullied, buffeted, bleeding, and maybe even fainted. But we'll get better. We'll train more. Then one day we will go back and win. Then Craeg and his team will fall. Darkrai has played a horrible, terrible, long game of chess and we finally will beat the king. Craeg is the queen and he's been moving around the board, taking out all our pieces. Azelf was Darkrai's knight and she took out our own knight. Our pawns are everyone Darkrai has hurt or killed and his is Skun."

"And the rest of Them," Carry put in quietly.

Dark nodded. "And Them. They're the pawns that Darkrai moved to try and take me out before Carry and I both came here, I think, since Craeg is one of Them and he tried to kill me."

"Makes sense," Carry agreed, shrugging.

Wylie had no idea what they were talking about (I could see it in his aura) and neither did I, but he continued anyway. "And Them. But They're not problems as far as I know and Skun is easy to beat. The guild was our castle, and this mountain is theirs. Both are unsafe now and neither force can return to them anymore, but that doesn't matter. What matters is that we will take out the dark king one day."

"Yeah!" I said joyfully, raising my fist in the air.

"Yeah!" everyone else repeated, beginning to smile.

"Yes! Now let's go!" Wylie pumped his fist in the air, bringing the last of bit of excitement that he could fit in the air between the sadness.

Overall, I felt bittersweet. It was a better feeling than I'd expected to get.

"Wait! Wait! Hang on!" a high-pitched voice called.

We all fell into fighting stances, unsure of what who was coming.

A little shaymin came into sight, panting.

"She's an actual shaymin," I said, standing up.

Everyone relaxed. Dark, receiving the memory, fainted.

"Damn, and everyone was all pumped up, too," I said, shrugging. "Oh, well. Shaymin? What's the news?"

After a few more pants, she said, "You can't go up there. Darkrai's there!"

***AUTHOR NOTE ON NEXT CHAPTER!***


	30. Chapter 30

Before I continue on, I must say that I was watching **Special****Episode**** – ****Pokémon****Mystery****Dungeon**** : ****Team****Go****-****Getters****Out****of****the****Gate****!** earlier (When I was supposed to be writing this.) and I have to say I hate their voices with terribly burning passion xD And then the best team people (who unfortunately aren't as good as Dark and friends) are named team ACT. Either a scary test for juniors or the verb "to act." They act on bad things. Pokemon never fails to disappoint me sometimes xD (Then I realized in the middle of the video that ACT happened to be the same letters that were the first ones of Alakazom, Charizard, and Tyranitar, the pokemon who make up the team. Gawd am I stupid sometimes...)

And then Peliper was rhyming. 0.0

That just needed a line of its own.

AND GROVYLE HAS A DEEP VOICE THAT I THOUGHT WOULD BE HIGH-PITCHED...

And then sunflora appeared throughout the opening and appeared to be the third team member and I was like "NO!" throughout the whole opening.

AND CHATOT'S VOICE! WTF? Oh, gawd, it's terrible...!

AND THEN SUNFLOWRA WAAAAAS PART OF THE TEAM! WWWWWTTTTTTFFFF?

And Misty's voice actor played the shinx!

Anyway, back to this... and serious things...

ENJOY!

Chapter 30

TheUmbreonAsA Boy

Three days before my eighteenth birthday, I was sent on a mission.

They had finally received intel regarding the location of my father as well as a map that was stolen some time ago from a museum. We wanted both back and they sent me to get them.

Turns out the Black Furs were disguising themselves as The Medical Champs, a drug company that had recently started producing what are known as miracle drugs, who have no side effects.

So when we called, would the police believe us?

Nope.

So it was up to me, then.

Just the way I liked it, really.

I slid along the building's sides, searching for a window or a door or something I could use to get into the building.

I finally found my entrance in the back: a door that was half open. Upon closer inspection I found that it had been locked before it was shut fully so that the lock locked into place outside its set location, keeping it open.

I entered and found I had lucked out, for that room was the janitor's closet. There was a set of keys there, which I gleefully took.

I walked around the building, sticking to the shadows. That was what I was best at, I'd decided. When someone finally saw me, they began reaching for a walkie talkie. I was too fast for him and had him pinned to the wall.

I leaned in close to his face and demanded, "Where are the captives?"

"Th-th-there's only one," the boy said, furiously shaking. I hated hurting someone innocent, but obviously he wasn't innocent. So I didn't feel terribly bad.

"Where is it?" I asked behind bared teeth.

"Th-th-that way," the guy nodded down a passageway. "R-r-room 2012."

I let him drop and said harshly, "Alright. If you're lying, I'll come back and kill you."

The guy just sat there shivering. I kicked his head hard and he fainted.

Afterwords I crept forward, slinking along the edges of the hallway until I caught sight of the room with number 2012 labeled on it. I swiftly knocked on the door and then hid in a crouch next to it.

The door opened away from me and waited. "What?" a masculine voice demanded.

It was quite familiar.

"Ya!" I yelled, and I sprung up and gave him a splendid uppercut. Craeg fell to the floor, already knocked out. There was a pin on his chest. I looked a bit closer and read, "CEO."

I kicked him, angry that he was now in charge of this company.

I entered the room.

My father was tied to a chair in the center of the room. Next to him was a bat and several medical instruments on a small round white table.

I didn't scream when I stepped closer to my dad, the words of hope and happiness I thought I would have been able to say suddenly gone from my mind.

My father's skull was split. I could see his brains spilling out slowly and his blood dripped down his body and onto the floor, adding to the blood drooling from cuts all along the rest of him.

I did not cry. I did not gasp. I did not scream.

I did not know it would happen, and I had wished that it wouldn't with everything in me.

But I did prepare for it mentally just in case it did.

"Uhh," I abruptly heard Craeg moan as he began to wake up, shattering the silence.

I walked over to him and placed my foot on his neck.

"Why?" I questioned.

Craeg slowly blinked his eyes open. The man glanced at my foot but didn't respond to it. He merely smirked and said, "He didn't tell me how to decode the map."

"Where is it?" I demanded.

Craeg glanced back into the room, but simply said, "None of your business."

"Why did you kill him?" I asked coolly next.

Craeg snickered a moment before admitting, "Mew. The queen."

"What does that mean?" I demanded.

He didn't answer, just smirked up at me.

I leaned my weight down on my foot, but he didn't respond. I pressed down even more and watched him until he turned blue and fainted. I then stepped off him and went back into the room. I searched around until I thought to look back at the desk. On it was a thin, yellowing paper beneath the tools. I grabbed it and pulled, letting the monstrous instruments used for torture fall and crash noisily onto the ground.

As I walked by my father one last time, I whispered, "I will avenge you, just like my sister and my aunt. I love you. Goodbye."

I walked out just as my phone buzzed.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Do you have the map and your father?" an agent I recognized asked me. I couldn't recall his name.

"Father's dead. Got the map," I told him very calmly and emotionlessly.

"Sorry. Set the bomb," the man instructed.

"Got it," I told him, then hung up. I pressed a combination of buttons and set the timer for half an hour. As I did it, I whispered emotionlessly, "He was the last to die at your hands." Then I placed it on Craeg's chest and began making my way back to the exit.

I let people see me, wanting them to chase me so they'd get out.

Eventually, when I had around nine people chasing me and they all were screaming for their boss into their communication devices, a siren went off and everyone started screeching about the bomb.

I was relatively unsurprised when Craeg joined the ranks as I ran out of the building and onto the streets.

It also didn't surprise me when I caught myself in a dead end.

What did surprise me was that I woke up as a pokemon.

**AUTHOR NOTE NEXT CHAPTER**


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